5th generation fuel cell: same size as combustion engine

New General Motors 5th generation fuel cell: same size as combustion engine

General Motors has revealed information about its latest (5th generation) automotive fuel cell, being used in test vehicles in California, New York and Washington, which is the same size as its 2.4 litre EcoTec four cylinder combustion engine.

A photograph is shown on the Autoblog.com website, showing the new fuel cell and the previous model, much bigger, next to it.

The new fuel cell only uses 30g (approx 1 ounce) of platinum compared to 80g in the fourth generation model - current platinum prices are around 1240 USD per ounce. GM anticipates reducing the amount of platinum in each fuel cell to 10g in subsequent models, which is similar to the amount of platinum in catalytic converters.

The hydrogen injector has been reduced in size from about the size of a text book to a much smaller unit.