Technology

January 1, 2007: General Motors Europe AG and other vehicle manufacturers including BMW Group, DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford Motor Company, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG, and Volkswagen AG, along with energy companies Shell Hydrogen B.V. and Total France, announced their joint approach to advance hydrogen as a fuel for road transport in Europe. In a common position paper, the companies defined a near and mid term action plan to pave the way for the introduction of hydrogen-based mobility in Europe.

September 27, 2006: GM announced that it extended its agreement with the United States Postal Service to test fuel cell vehicles for mail delivery. The announcement was made at the unveiling of a GM HydroGen3 fuel cell minivan that would be added to the U.S. Postal Service's Irvine, California, fleet, and marked the first time a fuel cell vehicle would be used for mail delivery on the West Coast.

September 21, 2006: The U.S. Army became the first customer of General Motors Corp.'s latest fuel cell technology as the automaker deployed the first vehicle of its next generation Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle fleet.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a champion of fuel cell technology, and Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development and strategic planning, gave the Equinox Fuel Cell keys to Army Maj. Gen. Roger A. Nadeau, commander of the U.S. Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command.

September 17, 2006: Chevrolet announced plans to launch the world's largest fuel cell vehicle fleet by committing to build more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles and begin placing them with customers in the fall of 2007, as part of a comprehensive deployment plan dubbed "Project Driveway." Designed to gain comprehensive feedback on all aspects of the customer experience, Project Driveway becomes the first meaningful market test of fuel cell vehicles anywhere. A variety of drivers - in differing driving environments - will operate these vehicles and refuel with hydrogen in three geographic areas: California, the New York metropolitan area and Washington D.C.

September 11, 2006: General Motors announces a drivable version of the most technologically advanced automobile ever built - the Chevrolet Sequel, GM's solution to provide the world with a cleaner, petroleum-free vehicle that is better in nearly every way.

May 11, 2006: GM's pioneering 1966 Electrovan and AUTOnomy fuel cell concept car, that captured the world's attention when introduced by GM at the 2002 North American International Auto Show, were transported from the General Motors Heritage Center near Detroit to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles for the exhibit, "Propulsion after Petroleum." The exhibit is designed to highlight the work that the automobile industry has done over the years to become less dependent on fossil fuels for efficiency, environmental and economic reasons.

April 22, 2006: In Detroit, home to GM's world headquarters, GM participated in Earth Day activities at the New Detroit Science Center with a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle display and information on GM's research and development efforts in this future transportation arena. Additionally, GM sponsored the U.S. Department of Energy's National Science Bowl and hosted a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle ride and drive and hydrogen fuel cell model car challenge for student participants later that same month.

February 23, 2006: Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman visited GM's Fuel Cell Activities Research Center in Honeoye Falls, NY, Thursday, February 23, 2006. Bodman's visit highlighted President Bush's $1.2 billion, five-year commitment to the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. As part of President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, the Fiscal Year 2007 budget request for the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative was increased by $53 million to $289.5 million.

Sept. 29 - Oct. 1, 2005: GM and U.S. Army demonstrated hydrogen-powered fuel cell technologies designed for consumer use, and for U.S. military non-tactical vehicle applications, as part of a rolling fuel cell vehicle convoy featured during the 2005 California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) Road Rally.

A modified Chevrolet Silverado equipped with two 94-kilowatt fuel cell stacks fueled by hydrogen, and GM's HydroGen3 fuel cell minivan, were among several fuel cell vehicles featured during CaFCP member caravans, educational displays and test-drive opportunities in several Sacramento and San Francisco Bay Area communities.

June 3, 2005: Swedish furniture maker IKEA and General Motors announced that IKEA customers in Berlin, Germany would begin receiving service calls from an emission-free HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle based on the Opel Zafira and fueled by liquid hydrogen. IKEA becomes the latest organization to partner with GM, joining FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, Shell and the U.S. Army in taking advantage of the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell technology.

May 25, 2005: U.S. President George W. Bush refueled a General Motors HydroGen3 vehicle at the Shell hydrogen fueling location in Washington, DC, Wednesday, May 25, 2005.

April 1, 2005: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton joined GM and the U.S. military for the unveiling and ceremonial delivery of a GM fuel cell-powered pickup truck built for the U.S. military. Developing partnerships with customers like the U.S. military, whose goals match GM’s, will advance a hydrogen economy, help gain real-world experience with hydrogen and fuel cells and create the potential for additional future joint transportation ventures with the military.

January 27, 2005: GM announced that it will be providing 13 fuel cell-powered vehicles and that Shell Hydrogen LLC intends to establish New York State’s first hydrogen service station in the New York City metropolitan area in 2006. GM and Shell will be the only team bringing fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen refueling to the New York City metropolitan area under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation project.

January 10, 2005: GM’s Sequel was unveiled in Detroit. Sequel embodies GM’s vision of reinventing the automobile with a fusion of technologies that include advanced materials, electronic controls, computer software and advanced propulsion. The technology concepts first introduced in Autonomy and then Hy-wire have become much more real in the GM Sequel which demonstrates that the vision is real and eventually, fuel cells are the ultimate answer.

January 6, 2005: GM joined with Sandia National Lab in a partnership to design and test an advanced method for storing hydrogen. The 4-year, $10 million program is intended to develop and test tanks that store hydrogen in sodium aluminum hydride. The goal is to be able to store more hydrogen onboard that other hydrogen storage methods currently in use.

November 29, 2004: Dow and GM launched the second phase of a joint project proving the viability of hydrogen fuel cells. In the first phase, announced in February 2004, a single GM test cell was connected to Dow’s power distribution grid and also to Dow’s hydrogen clean-up and pipeline system to generate electricity for powering up the Dow chemical plant. Phase II expands the project from a single GM test cell to a multi-cell pilot plant at Dow’s Texas Operations in Freeport, Texas. The real-world data that is collected from this venture is being used to further the development of fuel cell technology.

November 10, 2004: A retail hydrogen fueling station opened in Washington DC as the centerpiece in a partnership announced between Shell and GM to develop hydrogen-fueled vehicles on a commercial scale. The station is the first at a retail gas station to service. It will service six GM fuel cell vehicles. Both compressed and liquid hydrogen refueling are available.

October 30, 2004: GM and Shanghai Automotive announced they will co-develop a demonstration vehicle using the latest fuel cell technology, building on GM’s HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle. The two-year demonstration will begin in Shanghai in early 2005. It is designed to showcase the benefits of fuel cel vehicles in real life applications.

October 14, 2004: GM took top honors in several categories with it’s HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle at the 2004 Michelin Bibendum competition in Shanghai. The competition pitted 74 hybrid, diesel and fuel cell vehicles, measuring everything from acceleration to fuel efficiency to CO2 emissions.

September 8, 2004: Governor Ehrlich of the state of Maryland announced plans to lease a GM HydroGen3 vehicle in a ceremony held at the state’s capitol. The vehicle will be used as part of the state’s fleet and represents a significant step forward in laying a foundation for a future economy driven by hydrogen. Maryland is also pursuing development of an hydrogen fueling station and industrial park where all of the buildings would be powered by hydrogen.

June 15, 2004: GM and the U.S. Postal Service announced an arrangement whereby the U.S. Postal Service would lease a GM HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle to add to its fleet of mail delivery vehicles in Washington DC. The vehicle is assigned to a postal delivery route in the Ft. Belvoir, Virginia vicinity. Postal delivery service with the vehicle was launched on September 8, 2004.

May 3, 2004: GM set a new world distance record for fuel cell technology with a run of HydroGen3 over 6,000 miles through 14 European countries. The marathon run nearly doubled the previous distance record set by Daimler Chrysler in 2002.

February 10, 2004: GM and Dow officially powered-up a stationery Fuel Cell Power Module at the Dow Chemical Company’s Freeport Texas plant. In the world’s largest fuel cell application at a chemical manufacturing site, Dow’s by-product hydrogen created as a part of Dow’s manufacturing processes will be converted to electricity by a GM fuel cell. The electricity that is generated will power up the plant.

August: GM demonstrates wheel hub motor technology that can provide a 60 percent increase in torque at the launch in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles.

July: GM and Federal Express announced a partnership where the HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle will be used by Federal Express in the first commercial use of a fuel cell vehicle in Japan. FedEx will use the HydroGen3 vehicle during one year for regular delivery services in two downtown districts of Tokyo.

May: Showcased hybrid and fuel cell vehicles in Tour de Sol: The Great American Green Transportation Festival held in Trenton, N.J., Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

May: Launched Washington-based fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles with test-drives of HydroGen3 fuel cell prototypes with Members of Congress.

May: Announced reaching an understanding with Dow Chemical Co. on the world’s largest fuel cell transaction to date. The intent is for GM to commercialize its hydrogen fuel cell technology to generate electricity from hydrogen created as a co-product at Dow’s Freeport, Texas operations. Dow could eventually use up to 35 megawatts of power generated by 500 fuel cell units.

April: Announced an agreement with the BMW Group to jointly develop refueling devices for liquid hydrogen vehicles and invited other carmakers and suppliers to join this initiative.

March: Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) granted GM the first-ever approval to drive a liquid hydrogen-fueled vehicle on public roads in Japan. With a driving range of 400 kilometer (250 miles), HydroGen3 has the highest driving range of any fuel cell vehicle approved for public roads in Japan.

March: Announced a partnership with Shell Hydrogen which includes a demonstration of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and fueling infrastructure technology in the Washington, D.C area. The demo features the nation’s first hydrogen pump at a Shell retail gas station to support a GM demo fleet of fuel cell vehicles.

February: Announced world’s first successful vehicle test of a 10,000 PSI (700 bar) hydrogen storage system. The new 20,000 PSI tank technology extends the range of the HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle by 60-70 percent compared to an equivalent-sized 5,000 PSI system.

January: Hy-wire named “Car of the Future” by the Belgian Association of Professional Auto Journalists. The honor is awarded to the vehicle considered the most innovative, the most spectacular, the most original or the most practicable.

January: Revealed, with the U.S. Army, a diesel hybrid military pickup truck equipped with a fuel cell auxiliary power unit that could become the model for the Army’s new fleet of 30,000 light tactical vehicles by the end of the decade.

January: Hy-wire recognized with “Environmental Strategy Concept Car of the Year” by Automotive News; North American International Auto Show Eyes on Design award for “Most Significant Design Enabler” and “Golden Marker Award for Excellence in Design” by Car Styling Magazine.

December: Announced a joint program with Federal Express to advance fuel cell technology by conducting the first commercial test of a fuel cell vehicle in Japan.

December: Hy-wire and HydroGen3 Ride & Drive attended by international media representatives in Monaco.

November: Hy-wire awarded “Time Magazine’s” Coolest Invention 2002 Award and AUTOnomy ranked by “Popular Science” as the breakthrough automotive technology of the year in the “Best Of What’s New” issue.

September: Unveiled Hy-wire, the world’s first drivable vehicle that combines a hydrogen fuel cell with by-wire technology, at the Paris Motor Show.

August: Provided a public preview of the Hy-wire, the world’s first drivable vehicle that combines a hydrogen fuel cell with by-wire technology, at the GM Product Seminar in Santa Barbara, Calif.

July: Announced that GM and QUANTUM Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide has received certification from Germany’s Technical Inspection Association for a 700 bar (10,000 psi) hydrogen storage system.

July: Unveiled GM Fuel Cell Development Center in Honeoye Falls, N.Y. which will develop fuel cell technology for commercial use.

July: Announced participation in the Japan Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, directed by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

June: Showcased the AUTOnomy at the World Hydrogen Conference in Montreal.

May: Released initial results of European Well-to-Wheel study showing that fuel cell cars offer solution to curtail greenhouse gas emissions.

May: AUTOnomy awarded "Engine of the Year" Award in Best Concept category by "Engine Technology International."

April: Demonstrated Chevrolet S-10 Gasoline-Fed Fuel Cell Vehicle, the world's first drivable fuel cell vehicle that extracts hydrogen from gasoline to produce electricity.

April: Delivered HydroGen1 to California Fuel Cell Partnership.

April: Exhibited Phoenix at an Earth Day exhibit in Beijing with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans in attendance. The Phoenix is a fuel cell wagon developed jointly by the Pan Asia Automotive Technology Center (PATAC), a joint venture of GM and the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).

March: Showcased AUTOnomy concept at Geneva Motor Show.

January: Unveiled AUTOnomy concept which is the first vehicle designed from the ground up around a fuel cell propulsion system and the first to combine fuel cells with x-by-wire technology.

October: Unveiled with Hydrogenics a prototype fuel cell unit that provides back-up power to cell towers during power outages. Once fully developed, GM partner Hydrogenics to market and field test the fuel cell unit with Nextel in first quarter of 2002.

October: Participated in Michelin's Bibendum Challenge showcasing the HydroGen1 fuel celled-vehicle and QUANTUM's TriShield hydrogen storage cylinder. Announced HydroGen1 was the only fuel cell-powered vehicle to finish Bibendum's 350-kilometer course from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

October: Released "2000-01 Sustainability Report" which highlights GM's efforts to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles with 300 experts working on two continents.

October: Announced multi-year collaborative research agreement with ChevronTexaco to advance fuel cell technology and gasoline processing for fuel cell vehicles. Agreement will accelerate GM's efforts to offer a gasoline-fed fuel cell vehicle to retail customers.

October: Announced agreement with Suzuki Motor Corporation to collaborate on fuel cell vehicle development, focused on small cars.

October: GM Fuel Cell Technical Seminar attended by 150 media representatives at Tokyo Motor Show. Showcased HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle.

October: Announced expansion of fuel cell development activity with Giner, Inc. to include applications beyond the transportation field, including hydrogen generation for refueling systems and regenerative fuel cells for stationary power.

October: Announced strategic alliance with Hydrogenics Corporation to accelerate fuel cell development into global commercial markets. Alliance includes shared intellectual property rights and joint efforts in fuel cell product development, engineering, prototyping, testing, branding and marketing.

September: Showcased HydroGen3 at Frankfurt Auto Show. Announced that GM's latest fuel cell stack sets new world standard for power density that packs 60% more power than any competitor. New stack generates 1.75 kilowatts (kW) per liter at the Grove Conference.

August: Showcased fuel cell stationary power unit capable of supplying electricity to homes and businesses at U of M's Traverse City Automotive Management Seminar.

August: Unveiled Chevrolet S-10 pickup demonstrator featuring GM's Stack 2000 at U of M's Traverse City Automotive Management Seminar. (Stack 2000 generates electricity and has 25 percent higher power density than GM's Stack used at Mesa endurance trials in May 2001.)

August: Unveiled Gen III, world's first gasoline fuel processor for fuel cell propulsion, at U of M's Traverse City Automotive Management Seminar. Gen III has the capacity to start in less than three minutes.

June: Announced 25-year collaboration with General Hydrogen to accelerate the spread of a hydrogen infrastructure and to speed introduction of fuel cell vehicles into North America, Europe, Asia and emerging markets.

June: Announced substantial minority ownership position in QUANTUM Technologies to develop hydrogen handling and electronic control technologies for fuel cell applications. QUANTUM is recognized as industry leader in hydrogen storage and handling in automotive applications.

May: Set 15 international endurance records for fuel cell-powered vehicles by HydroGen1 at GM's Mesa, Arizona Proving Grounds. HydroGen1 completed 862 miles in 24-hour endurance run.

March: Released comprehensive Well-to-Wheel study by GM, Argonne National Laboratory, BP, ExxonMobil, and Shell showing that hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles offer the cleanest and most efficient combination of fuel and propulsion system in long-term.

March: Announced that GM has entered into discussions with QUANTUM Technologies to establish a business relationship.

January: Announced with Toyota progress on multi-year technology agreement and combining research on fuels for fuel cells and fuel infrastructure with ExxonMobil.

November: Announced breakthrough catalyst system with current generation gasoline fuel processor at more than 80 percent efficiency.

November: Showcased HydroGen1 at fuel cell technology seminar in China. (HydroGen1 achieved full power nearly 12 times faster in freezing conditions than same design unveiled in 1999.)

October: Joined California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) to advance state of fuel cell technology.

September: HydroGen1, fuel cell vehicle based on Opel Zafira compact van, served as pace car for the men's and women's marathons at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

August: Announced development of highly-efficient gasoline fuel processor for fuel cell vehicles with ExxonMobil.

May: Created Giner Electrochemical Systems (GES) with Giner, Inc. to perform fuel cell research and development. (Giner is the leader in PEM-based technologies.)

March: Introduced Opel Zafira demonstration car, with industry's most advanced operational automotive fuel cell stack, at Geneva International Motor Show.

January: Unveiled Precept FCEV, fuel cell electric vehicle and PNGV demonstrator, at North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, USA. (Designed to achieve 108 m.p.g. gasoline equivalent.)

April: Signed five-year technical agreement with Toyota to develop advanced vehicle technologies, including fuel cells.

September: Introduced first driveable fuel cell concept (Opel Zafira minivan) at Paris Motor Show.

Established Global Alternative Propulsion Center with facilities in Mainz-Kastel, Germany; Warren, Michigan, USA; and Honeoye Falls, New York, USA.

Signed agreement with ExxonMobil to conduct collaborative research on hardware and fuel options for advanced vehicles.

March: Unveiled Opel experimental fuel cell vehicle at Geneva International Motor Show.

GM/Exxon/Arco R&D Agreement signed.

Giner Stack Development Program initiated.

Produced auto industry's first operational fuel cell-powered vehicle.

Conducted first fuel cell testing