Going back about 15 years, hydrogen fuel cells were touted as a possible savior in our struggles to reduce fossil fuel use. And while the technology has found a home in a number of fleet operations, the challenges in operational safety and setting up a refueling infrastructure prevented it from hitting the mainstream.
Fast forward to this summer and the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) is putting an electric hydrogen fuel cell version of the Chevy Colorado through the paces.
A one-off ZH2 is in the midst of a year-long evaluation as the Army looks to a stealthier vehicle for cross-country combat and surveillance operations.
The 170-horsepower electric motor receives its’ power from a hydrogen fuel cell borrowed from GM's now-discontinued line of Equinox CUVs. The hydrogen fuel cell also provides power to a separate electric generator that resides in the truck bed.
This generator offers additional, quieter power for communication equipment.
The use of a hydrogen fuel cell offers a number of potential advantages – namely the lack of a gas engine and drivetrain makes it nearly silent. An electric fuel cell instead of an additional diesel generator to power communications devices also improves the overall maneuverability while throwing off less heat. This makes the vehicle more difficult to detect with infrared monitoring technology.
Early results are offering a 200-mile range on the ZH2 fuel cells, depending on the terrain. Retrofits are also minimal at this point, including only beefier skid plates and a rocker panel protecting the tubular rails of the suspension system.
The challenges associated with this vehicle are the same as those encountered in the past.
Accessing and storing hydrogen in a combat zone presents some obvious safety concerns. And relying upon highly combustible hydrogen renders thoughts of a potential Hindenburg-like catastrophe, even though extra precautions have been taken for the ZH2's tank to vent upward and outward in the event of a breach.