- by Roy Retter
GM unveils hybrid truck for military
21 January 2003: On the basis that the most cost-efficient way to get a new technology onto the mass market is by developing it for military purposes first, General Motors has produced a diesel-hybrid SUV-type truck for the US Army.
The vehicle also somes equipped with a fuel cell auxiliary power unit (APU) that could become the model for the Army's new fleet of 30,000 light tactical vehicles by the end of the decade.
The diesel hybrid improves Army fuel consumption by 20 percent over conventional diesels, reduces emissions and provides troops with clean, reliable electrical power.
The fuel cell APU would replace the loud engine- and battery-based stationary generators the Army now uses for field power, thus enhancing the Army's ‘silent watch’ capability, or the ability to operate undetected by the enemy. Fuel cells are much quieter than engine generators and do not give off as much heat, making them less likely to be picked up by enemy heat sensors.
The fuel cell unit also familiarizes the military with the next generation of commercially developed fuel cell technology, so that military vehicles could be powered by fuel cells within the next 10 years.
The truck is based on the Chevrolet Silverado crew cab, and was unveiled by Dr Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development and planning and responsible for the GM Hy-Wire fuel cell prototype car currently under test.
Burns said the defense project is a great opportunity to put large numbers of diesel hybrids and stationary fuel cell units in operation in the interest of national security.
"We also anticipate that it will accelerate cost-effective and durable civilian applications of hybrid-electric vehicles and fuel cells," he said. "As an early customer, the military will help drive down costs, increase our learnings, and spur the eventual development of a hydrogen-based economy."
The US Army is expected to want 30,000 hybrids by the end of the decade.
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