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General Motors H2H Hummer
The Terminator
at the LAX terminal helped christen the General Motors H2H Hummer
in October 2004. At the urging of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,
GM created the hydrogen version of the Gulf War gas-guzzling 8 mpg
SUT (sport utility truck) to showcase the future for hydrogen technology.
Engineers from
General Motors and Quantum Technologies from Irvine, California
modified a standard H2 Hummer with 6.0-liter V-8 engine to run on
hydrogen in a one-time effort. Schwarzenegger drove the GM H2H Hummer
into the Los Angeles International Airport terminal to help christen
California's first public hydrogen fuel station.
Special injectors
were used to accommodate the hydrogen and because of the decreased
power when running hydrogen through an internal combustion (ICE)
engine, superchargers were used to power the engine up to 180 hp.
The General Motors H2H Hummer also contains three compressed carbon-fiber
hydrogen tanks rated at 5,000 psi.
The range for
this one-of-a-kind vehicle is only 60 miles, which is far below
the 200 - 350 miles that many hydrogen fuel cell and internal combustion
engine hydrogen cars are getting
in 2006. This just demonstrates, however, how quickly hydrogen technology
has advanced within two years. For its time, the GM H2H Hummer made
a bold statement.
The statement
was and still is, "We are building hydrogen vehicles, hydrogen
fueling stations and an entire hydrogen highway system and this
system will be filled not only with wimpy little tofu-eating urban
cars, but big manly vehicles that also happen to use hydrogen as
fuel."
In years to
come, the General Motors H2H Hummer will be known as the classic
hydrogen vehicle of its time. And why not? General Motors invented
the first fuel cell vehicle in the 1960's, so the GM H2H Hummer
is just another highlight along the pathway to a total hydrogen
transportation system in years to come.
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