GM walks the Hy-wire

GENERAL MOTORS took the next step along its fuel cell strategy path this month by unveiling pictures of Hy-wire, a driveable version of the Autonomy hydrogen fuel cell concept car revealed at Detroit last January.

The Hy-wire, to be revealed in the metal at next month's Paris motor show, is named for its drive-by-wire command system, incorporating electronic control of steering, braking and other systems.

The relatively orthodox sedan body seats five and houses their luggage. But the interior presentation is far from orthodox with no engine to see over and no pedals to operate, just a single unit called X-drive.

And all of the sedan's propulsion and control systems are contained within Autonomy's skateboard-like chassis that is less than 30cm thick.

"The fact that we developed Hy-wire as a drivable concept vehicle in just eight months (from its introduction in Detroit) shows our commitment to this technology and the speed at which we are progressing," said GM president and CEO Rick Wagoner.

"With Autonomy, GM shared a vision. Hy-wire accelerates our progress with a fully functional proof of concept which strengthens our confidence in our ability to gain marketplace acceptance of production fuel cell vehicles." GM aims to have affordable fuel cell vehicles on sale by the end of this decade and selling them profitably in large numbers by 2020. It is not alone in that quest with all major manufacturers spending hundreds of millions of dollars researching alternate fuel strategies.

Significant hurdles remain apart from developing the fuel cell stack technology.

There is no hydrogen refueling infrastructure and scientists are still trying to develop hydrogen tanks that are both light and strong enough to transport hydrogen - a flammable gas - safely and at capacities large enough to provide an acceptable driving range of about 500km.

But the rewards for the first to market with a fuel cell car are huge, considering the increasing pollution implications for petroleum-powered vehicles GM designers and engineers in the US developed the vehicle chassis and body design, as well as the engineering and electrical system integration. Engineers at GM's research facility in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, integrated the fuel-cell propulsion system, which is the same system designed for the HydroGen3 concept, based on an Opel Zafira and shown for the first time at the 2001 Frankfurt Motor Show.

American designers also worked closely with Italian design house Stile Bertone in Turin, where the body was built. The SKF Group, headquartered in Sweden, developed the by-wire technology in the Netherlands and Italy.

"By combining fuel cell and by-wire technology, we've packaged this vehicle in a new way, opening up a new world of chassis architectures and customised bodies for individualised expression," said Chris Borroni-Bird, director of GM's Design and Technology Fusion Group and program director of the Hy-wire concept.

"It is a significant step towards a new kind of automobile that is substantially more friendly to the environment and provides consumers positive benefits in driving dynamics, safety and freedom of individual expression."