GM details plan to deliver 1,000 fuel cell cars in California

General Motors (GM) aims to have 1,000 fuel cell vehicles on the roads in California between 2012 and 2014 as part of its plans to comply with the State’s new target to replace thousands of existing cars with cleaner models

According to Reuters' reports, GM’s vice president for research, development and planning Larry Burns told the National Hydrogen Association conference in California yesterday that the company is committed to scaling up production of its fuel cell powered vehicles.

Currently, GM has approximately 60 Equinox fuel cell vehicles in Southern California but Burns said the next "logical play" for the company would be to try and grow the market to around 1,000 vehicles over the next few years.

He said that with 1,000 fuel cell cars, GM will be "in the ballpark" of meeting its share of the nearly 8,000 electric or fuel cell powered cars that California wants on its roads by 2014.

Burns added that the company was confident that the technology would reach a tipping point by 2020 "tipping point" as it heads towards "mainstream acceptance and financial viability".

However, despite GM ambitions adoption of the technology is currently hampered by the fact that California only has 25 hydrogen refuelling stations.

GM is lobbying lawmakers and energy companies to install 40 new hydrogen refuelling stations in Los Angeles making fuel cell cars more viable for many residents. At an estimated cost of $160m such an infrastructure investment represents a fraction of the $1bn GM spent developing the technology, Burns said.