Post by ukron on Jun 18, 2024 13:25:39 GMT
The idea of the fuel cell is far from new: projects were even developed before the internal combustion engine (1839), yet this technology, which relies on the generation of an electrical voltage caused by the oxidation of a reducing compound that gives up electrons to an oxidizing agent (oxygen, for example), has never made its way to mainstream use.
In the 1960s, when Vans were all the rage, General Motors decided to work on a vehicle powered by such a cell, the first time a car company had decided to combine a vehicle (in this case a GMC Handivan) with a fuel cell capable of producing between 32 and 160 kW:
In the 1960s, when Vans were all the rage, General Motors decided to work on a vehicle powered by such a cell, the first time a car company had decided to combine a vehicle (in this case a GMC Handivan) with a fuel cell capable of producing between 32 and 160 kW:
Located behind the cabin, the fuel cell consists of 32 electrodes connected in series and supplied with oxidizer and fuel via 167 meters of plastic tubing, linking them to tanks behind the middle seat (containing cooled hydrogen, oxygen and a 204-liter tank of potassium hydroxide used as electrolyte, the conductive substance), the motor is placed in a bulge near the front seats.
With an average weight of over 4 tons, the electrovan was well built and tested (it reached speeds of 112km with an average acceleration of 30 to 60 seconds), but never made it beyond the GMC test center: too expensive due to the scarcity of platinum, far too dangerous to transport potassium hydroxide (which is highly corrosive in gaseous form), and at the time there was no infrastructure to refuel the van.