PLUGGING IN OR PULLING OUT?

Is GM truly extending the wonderful plug-in hybrid concept or is it losing its nerve and hedging its bet? What do you think, Marc Geller of Plugs and Cars?

Fuel Cells: GM plugs in: In China, the Chevy Volt uses a new variant of E-flex
Katie Merx, April 20, 2007 (Detroit Free Press)

WHO
General Motoors (GM)

WHAT
GM announces a hydrogen fuel cell version of its Chevrolet Volt, previously advertised as an “E-flex” plug-in hybrid vehicle. The new version combines a lithium battery with a hydrogen fuel cell in the space where the plug-in hybrid would have a 4-cylinder internal-combustion flex-fuel engine. The fuel cell hybrid has a 20-mile electric range and a 300-mile combination electric and hydrogen range. The battery in the fuel cell vehicle is half as large as the one in the earlier Volt.

WHEN
The hydrogen fuel-cell version of the E-flex Volt was unveiled this week. The original plug-in hybrid Volt was shown in January. GM optimistically purports to be able to bring the Volt to market by 2010.

WHERE
The new vehicle was shown at the Shanghai Auto Show. The earlier Volt was shown at the Detroit Auto Show. GM is actively working to develop prototype fueling station presences every 2 miles in Shanghai, Berlin, southern California and other places,

WHY
The point of the E-flex design is to allow a variety of engine configurations conformed to local capabilities and preferences ranging from hydrogen as a gas, liquid or fuel cell, other liquid fuels such as gasoline, ethanol, propanol or biodiesel, or electric charges from any type of power plant from coal or nuclear to solar, wind or natural gas. It is widely thought the Volt is GM’s push to get ahead of competitors. GM and other American auto makers cannot seem to let go of the utopian hope for hydrogen, a fuel which can fuel vehicles with no tailpipe emissions but which presently requires more energy to produce than it provides and which produces more greenhouse gas emissions to create than it saves in burning.

QUOTES
- “Both versions of E-flex are dependent on technological advances that haven't yet been achieved: a safe, durable and affordable lithium battery and a system for loading hydrogen onto a vehicle.”
- Larry Burns, GM's vice president of research and development and strategic planning: "I think you can clearly read into this, we have enough confidence in both of these. ... We're sure one of them is going to pay off, and probably both of them in a time frame that syncs up with the production engineering schedule that we have here…Let's not think about it as one step from 98% dependent on petroleum to zero percent…Think about it in terms of growing the number of vehicles in concert with the amount of hydrogen infrastructure that you have in place."