First Shots Under The Hood of the Chevy Volt Hydrogen

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://gizmodo.com/341731/first-shots-under-the-hood-of-the-chevy-volt-hydrogen

First Shots Under The Hood of the Chevy Volt Hydrogen

GM may have announced their Chevy Volt Hydrogen concept months ago, but attendees at CES are getting the world's first look under the hood of the eco-friendly beast. More than just a random rendering, one can see Chevy's direction with eco-cars in some very clear side-by-side trends when compared with the original Chevy Volt.

(Several photos are available at the link above.)

Our notes:

Noticeable Differences Between Volt Hydrogen and Volt:

1. Volt Hydrogen features two hydrogen tanks near the rear of the vehicle.
2. Hydrogen still features a battery stack (we were told for electric-only option), but it's about 20% smaller than what you see in the Volt classic. (Specs say that it can go 40 miles on electric alone.)

Noticeable Similarities Between Volt Hydrogen and Volt:

1. That chassis looked identical—it's truly the Volt in hydrogen form.
2. It's called a Volt.
   
   When can we expect to see it on the market? There's no official timeline out there, as GM is waiting for the hydrogen refueling infrastructure problems to be solved before launching a hydrogen car. In addition, GM isn't finalizing the design until they see how the Volt performs for the masses.
   
   And as for that infrastructure problem, "we're working on a solution," a GM spokesperson said.

For those of you who have no idea what this is talking about, this is a version of the "Volt" ("E-Flex") which uses a hydrogen fuel cell to recharge its batteries (rather than an internal combustion engine.)

(Can they really call a car which hasn't been released yet a "classic?")

[caraher]

1. "eco-friendly beast?"

Not unless the hydrogen comes from a clean technology!

[Zachstar]

2. Agreed

Follow the trail and you find that Hydrogen currently contributes more greenhouse gases per car than even messed up SUVs.

Unless it was produced by the electro or biological/solar cracking of water it is NASTY so far.

Sorry for some of you that were considering Hydrogen cars as a "Clean" alt..

[patch1234]

3. GM seems to be serious ...

about the Volt. I thought I saw it
in a TV ad.

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. Yes, they're using it in ads. n/t

[tinrobot]

4. Nice concept... but...

...I don't see any hydrogen filling stations near my house.

I think the gas/electric version of the Volt is going to be a huge hit. If it delivers as promised, it will outsell the Prius.

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. An interesting study

http://www.tiaxllc.com/publications/tiax_fcs_06_ghg_analysis_for_hydrogen.pdf

...

Summary

When the efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is taken into account, a 50 percent reduction in GHG emissions can be achieved with natural gas feedstock when produced on-site or delivered by pipeline compared to comparable gasoline vehicles. When hydrogen is delivered as a liquid, the larger energy inputs result in about 30 percent more GHG emissions than pipeline delivery. Producing hydrogen from electrolysis using grid power results in about three times the GHG emissions as natural gas based production. These GHG emissions could be reduced if non-fossil power were used for electrolysis or as an input for other hydrogen production pathways.

...

I wonder how it compares to a natural gas vehicle...