GM And Honda Partnering On Fuel-Cell Technology Program

General Motors and Honda have announced a long-term partnership to co-develop future hydrogen fuel cell technology.

The pair will focus on fuel cell systems along with hydrogen storage technology, with a production schedule aimed at the year 2020.

The carmakers plan to roll out a broader hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, declaring it critical that drivers must “accept” the technology before they will adopt it.

According to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index, GM and Honda rank first and second respectively, based on the number of fuel cell patents filed between 2002 and 2012.

Between them, the carmakers have filed more than 1200 patents, and GM CEO Dan Akerson says this makes the pair leaders in the field.

“This collaboration builds upon Honda and GM’s strengths as leaders in hydrogen fuel cell technology,” Mr Akerson said.

“We are convinced this is the best way to develop this important technology, which has the potential to help reduce the dependence on petroleum and establish sustainable mobility.”

Honda CEO Takanobu Ito said he hopes the partnership with GM will accelerate development of hydrogen fuel cells along with making the technology more capable and more affordable.

“Among all zero-CO2 emission technologies, fuel cell electric vehicles have a definitive advantage with range and refueling time that is as good as conventional gasoline cars,” Mr Ito said.

Past achievements in the field are significant for both carmakers, with GM having racked up almost 4.8 million kilometres of testing in a fleet of 119 hydrogen-powered vehicles while Honda’s FCX Clarity was named World Green Car of the Year in 2009.

Honda plans to unveil the successor to the FCX Clarity in 2015.