General Motors and Honda are teaming up to mass produce an advanced hydrogen fuel cell system in the auto industry’s first manufacturing joint venture.
Fuel Cell System Manufacturing, LLC will operate within GM’s existing battery pack manufacturing facility site in Brownstown, Michigan, south of Detroit. Mass production of fuel cell systems is expected to begin around 2020 and create nearly 100 new jobs. The companies are making equal investments totaling $85 million in the joint venture.
Honda and GM have been working together through a master collaboration agreement announced in July 2013. It established the co-development arrangement for a next-generation fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies. The companies integrated their development teams and shared hydrogen fuel cell intellectual property to create a more affordable commercial solution for fuel cell and hydrogen storage systems.
Fuel cell vehicles can operate on hydrogen made from renewable sources such as wind and biomass wiht water vapor being the only emission from fuel cell vehicles.