General Motors (GM)’s commitment to hydrogen fuel cells is the
company’s answer to the environmental debate about reducing our
nation’s dependence on petroleum. Clearly, conserving energy, especially
reducing the nation’s dependence on petroleum, benefits the United
States in several ways. Reducing total petroleum use and reducing
petroleum imports decreases our economy’s vulnerability to oil
price shocks. Reducing dependence on oil imports from unstable
regions enhances our
energy security, and can reduce the flow of oil profits to certain
states now hostile to the United States. Conserving energy helps
achieve the
goal of decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity, mitigating the
potential risks of global climate change.
GM’s continued development of advanced technology may help to achieve
significant reductions in foreign oil dependence and stability in the
world oil market. The continued infusion of hybrid propulsion vehicles
and advanced diesels into the U.S. light-truck fleet may also contribute
to reduced dependence on petroleum. Chevrolet’s Equinox Fuel Cell
will be the next-generation fuel-cell vehicle GM will build. GM sources
say more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles will be placed
with customers in the fall of 2007. Designed to gain comprehensive knowledge
on all aspects of the customer experience, this initiative will be called “Project
Driveway.” A variety of drivers—in differing driving environments—will
operate these vehicles and refuel with hydrogen in three geographic
areas: California, the New York metropolitan area and Washington, D.C.
“
The Equinox Fuel Cell is powered by GM’s most advanced fuel-cell
propulsion system to date, and demonstrates an important milestone on
our pathway to automotive-competitive fuel-cell propulsion technology
development,” said Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and
development and strategic planning. Enabled by GM’s fourth-generation
fuel-cell propulsion system, the Equinox Fuel Cell is a fully functional
crossover vehicle, engineered for 50,000 miles of life. It is expected
to meet all applicable 2007 U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Equipped with a long list of standard safety features, the Equinox
Fuel Cell “is a real-world vehicle with real-world performance,” said
Ed Peper, Chevrolet general manager. “The fuel-cell technology
is seamlessly integrated into a uniquely styled crossover vehicle
that is distinctively Chevrolet.”
GM’s “Project Driveway” market test will provide comprehensive
insight into all aspects of the Equinox Fuel Cell customer experience,
including reaction to the exciting, smooth and quiet performance of a
fuel-cell vehicle, and refueling with clean hydrogen gas. “These
learnings will directly influence future fuel-cell vehicle generations
and ultimate market acceptance,” Peper said.
Going for Gold
GM’s new Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant has received a Gold
certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. To date, the building
is the only automotive manufacturing plant in the world—as well
as the largest facility and the most complex manufacturing site—to
ever receive any level of LEED certification. LEED certification is the
building industry’s well-respected recognition of superior energy
and environmental design and construction. A Gold certification recognizes
a high level of performance. Lansing Delta Township is one of just 550
buildings worldwide that are LEED certified at any level—and of
these buildings, only a third are certified at the Gold level.
During the first 10 years of operations, the facility is expected
to save more than 40 million gallons of water and 30 million kwh
of electricity. “Lansing
Delta Township is the first of the next generation of industrial buildings,” said
David Skiven, executive director, GM Worldwide Facilities Group. “It
proves that sustainable manufacturing buildings can be economically
built and operated. We are extremely proud of the innovative thinking
of our
employees and partners on the team that made this possible.”
Commenting on the certification, USGBC President S. Richard Fedrizzi
noted that the acceptance of green buildings has been slower within
the manufacturing sector than for other commercial uses. “GM’s
Lansing Delta Township Plant is a very good—and large—example
of how it’s possible to incorporate sustainable practices into
large-scale manufacturing facilities,” Fedrizzi said. “Today,
not only is it possible, it is cost- and energy-efficient, and provides
a healthy environment for employees. We expect GM’s plant will
change the way manufacturing buildings are built in the future.”
This is a quantum leap forward for the industry. GM has done more
than just talk about how the industry needs to respond to protect the
environment; they have acted in a new and powerful way to demonstrate
how this can be done.
Paul Faeth, managing director of World Resources Institute (WRI),
an independent nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that
studies environmental and development issues, said, “GM has been a leader
in the application of efficiency and renewables for quite some time.
This award is a well-deserved recognition of the company’s commitment
to sound environmental management of their facilities.” GM is a
member of WRI’s Green Power Market Development Group.
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