GM snags another fuel cell partner

The US Department of Energy’s (DoE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and GM have announced that they are partnering to accelerate the reduction of automotive fuel cell stack costs through fuel cell material and manufacturing R&D.

While many OEMs have been working on developing fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), the cost is still considered too high, but it has been coming down. According to the DoE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office, in 2002 the average fuel cell system cost US$275/kW. By 2017, there is a target of reducing this to US$30/kW, and in 2012, the figure was at US$47/kW, so things are currently on track. Most OEMs think FCVs at least need to compete with alternative powertrain vehicles, but appreciate that the cost will be more than internal combustion engines.