WASHINGTON — General Motors on Monday debuted a new hydrogen cell-powered truck that can store energy, make water and provide troops with a near-silent transportation option. 

For now, the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 is simply a demonstration vehicle and not linked to any particular program of record. But the Army and GM see a bright future for the use of hydrogen power. 

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"It's the potential, that's the word I want to emphasize," Paul Rogers, director of the US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), said during the unveiling of the vehicle at the Association of the US Army's annual conference. "What this project is about is exploring the potential that this offers us, not only from the war fighting capability, but the positive effects on the environment and also easing some of the logistical burden that exists."

One of the key benefits of using hydrogen fuel cells is that the Army would not have to rely on one kind of fuel. Instead, it could use whatever is available, including solar energy, water, JP-8 jet fuel or other petroleum-based fuels, said Charlie Freese, GM’s executive director of fuel cell business.

After the company wraps up ­calibration tests and delivers the truck to TARDEC early next year, the ZH2 will move to three different bases. There, soldiers will put it through its paces in a yearlong run of off-road mobility tests meant to gauge the viability of fuel cell technology.

"The idea is that we want to get the experience on how it’s actually behaving in the terrain that they would normally encounter, and they can get a little bit of hands-on experience with the vehicle itself and make sure that they understand what it actually means to their mission," Freese told Defense News.

The ZH2 features some modifications to the original vehicle, including larger, 37-inch tires, an upgraded suspension, and cooling systems used by the Camaro and Corvette, he said.

One of the biggest advantages of the vehicle is its efficiency. The onboard fuel cells can support long missions of about 300 to 400 miles without needing to be recharged. The vehicle can export 25 kilowatts of continuous power — 50 kilowatts at its peak — and produce up to 2 gallons of water per hour, he said.

"Much of the heat loss is reduced because we don’t have as much waste. We have no smoke, no smell, very little sound because other than the electric motor, it’s a very quiet system," he said. "If you’re out in a place and you want to be basically undetected, you can operate this system."

GM spent about $4 billion of its own funds to develop the fuel cell technology, which it plans to employ in future commercial and defense products. For example, the company is using similar fuel cells onboard the unmanned underwater vehicle it’s working on with the US Navy, he said. It’s also investing in further miniaturizing them.

Today the ZH2 uses about 240 fuel cells, "but this is just a starting point. We’re actually developing some systems with substantially reduced number of cells and [reduced] size."

About Valerie Insinna

Valerie Insinna is Defense News' air warfare reporter. She previously worked the Navy/congressional beats for Defense Daily, which followed almost three years as a staff writer for National Defense Magazine. Prior to that, she worked as an editorial assistant for the Tokyo Shimbun’s Washington bureau.

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