When an army goes to war, about 70 percent of the bulk tonnage it moves to the troops involves fuel for vehicles on the battlefield. Obviously, fuel economy is an important part of what the U.S. Army wants its future vehicles to deliver. A secondary goal is to reduce harmful vehicle emissions. The Pentagon believes that one way to achieve these goals will be in the use of specially developed fuel cell powertrains for its vehicles. General Motors Corp (GM) is lending a hand in this endeavor, and the Army took delivery of its first leased fuel cell vehicle (FCV) on April 1, 2005, at the GM Fuel Cell Center in Honeoye, N.Y. The vehicle is a modified Chevrolet Silverado truck fitted with two 94kW fuel cell stacks that have the ability to generate 252 horsepower and 317 lb.-ft. of torque. That amount of torque is about equal to GM's 5.3L V8 gas-fueled engine. Hydrogen and oxygen are fed through a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack to generate the electricity needed to drive the electric motors, which power the wheels. The overall goal of the Army's exploration of FCVs is to cut mpg ratings by 75 percent. If a successful FCV platform is accepted by the Army, a significant part of its 246,000 non-tactical vehicle fleet could be replaced, resulting in major fuel savings. Presently, the army is testing a number of gas- and diesel-hybrid High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV, aka "Humvees") and 18-wheelers. But hydrogen is their future fuel of choice. Early military experience with fuel cell power units is being built by the use of small auxiliary power units (APUs). The Army also recently signed an $88-million deal with GM and the U.S. Department of Energy to build a fleet of 40 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) to prove out the concept as well as explore the hydrogen infrastructure that will be needed. | ||
