Holden's hydrogen-fuelled vehicle leading the pack

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

We've all done it, misplaced something that all along was right in front of us. The Australians have a response to such mental lapses. "If it was a black snake it'd bite you," they say, meaning that what you were looking for was under your nose all the time.

That Australia should use its mineral riches to help develop fuel alternatives has been staring its leaders in the face, too, since Donald Horne wrote The Lucky Country in 1964, telling his countrymen that to abuse the nation's enormous natural wealth was to risk being bitten.

Part of that wealth has helped developments in motoring, including a petrol/electric hybrid Holden Commodore which the company believes could be on the road inside three years.

Meantime, Holden and its parent, General Motors, are showing off another future fuel alternative during the Sydney Olympics, or "Green Games."

It is a hydrogen vehicle developed in Germany and the United States by GM subsidiary Opel - and the only thing that comes out of its exhaust is water vapour.

Hydrogen1, as it is called, will lead men and women marathon-runners around Sydney on September 24 and October 1.

"We think it is appropriate that a vehicle that is leading the way in future fuel technology will also lead the world's best long-distance runners in the Olympics," said Holden chairman and managing director Peter Hanenberger.

"It is a demonstration of GM's commitment to technological and environmental leadership, and more specifically to producing vehicles which offer economical use of resources."

Based on Opel's Zafira van and people-mover, Hydrogen1 is entirely pollutant-free, says Holden. "It is the forerunner of tomorrow's car, representing another step on the way to a volume-production, fuel-cell vehicle." GM researchers and engineers view fuel-cell propulsion as an ideal platform for vehicles ranging from private cars to buses and trains, and they believe high-volume production will be in place before 2010. Indeed, the Australian Government is gearing up to have the first hydrogen filling station operating by 2007.

Apart from Opel, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen-Audi are already running hydrogen-powered vehicles in Germany. DaimlerChrysler and Ford have them in use around their home base of Detroit.

Hydrogen1 is a concept car that already meets the demands of everyday driving. The five-seater is powered by a three-phase electric motor. It has a top speed of 140 km/h and a range of about 400km.

Electricity is generated by a fuel cell stack that consumes pure hydrogen.

The stack consists of 200 individual cells measuring a fuel source 59cm long, 27cm wide and 50cm high, about as compact as a conventional four-cylinder petrol or diesel engine.

Its continuous power output is 80kW and its peak output is 120kW. The liquefied hydrogen is contained in a 75-litre tank at minus 253 deg C.

Priorities for GM and Hydrogen1 include developing a lighter and more compact cell stack and the infrastructure needed to support hydrogen vehicles.

Dr Erhard Schubert, a director of GM's alternative fuel research unit, said: "Hydrogen is most definitely the fuel of the future.

"A propulsion system using hydrogen fuel cells has optimum efficiency, emits nothing but water vapour, runs practically noise-free, and at the same time, is fun to drive."

Mercedes-Benz and BMW began hydrogen development some years ago. BMW runs a 7-Series saloon around Munich, which is fuelled at the carmaker's hydrogen filling station. Mercedes-Benz is using hydrogen in cars, buses, trucks and vans.