AUTO INDUSTRY Fuel cells steer vehicles in a new direction

Companies are sending hydrogen-powered cars to Washington legislators.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
TRENTON, N.J. -- General Motors' Hy-wire -- a car with no engine, steering wheel or brake pedal -- swerved between orange cones in a Trenton parking lot.
Don't think about trying Monday's stunt at home, because you can't -- and probably won't be able to for 10 or 20 years, if that.
The Hy-wire is the car of the future, and it runs on the energy of tomorrow: hydrogen fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity. Their only emission is water, which steams harmlessly out the tailpipe.
President Bush made hydrogen a surprise star of his January State of the Union speech. He suggested the element could be fueling America's cars by 2020, reducing environmentally harmful emissions and cutting the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
And so here it is, a glimpse of our freedom. The Hy-wire seats five, in an entirely flat-floored passenger compartment. Its maximum speed is about 100 miles per hour, but it can go only about 90 miles between fill-ups.
"We've probably put over a billion dollars into this technology over the last several years," said Greg Ruselowski, director of finance for GM's fuel-cell business. He said that's more than the company invests in a program to create a traditional new car model, "so this is a serious effort."
How it operates
The Hy-wire is controlled using something called an X-drive that resembles a video-game controller. Grab its two rubber handgrips and twist either one forward to make the car move. The whirring electric motor rises in pitch like a blender as it speeds up. There's no noisy engine under the hood.
There's no hood.
Squeezing either handgrip applies the brakes. Rotating the X-drive like a steering wheel turns the car, but there's no hand-over-hand turning and no steering column connecting it to the wheels. It's all done by wires that run through a computer.
The drive-by-wire feature and other space-age gadgets built into Hy-wire -- it has video screens instead of mirrors -- really have nothing to do with hydrogen. They're just to show off what designers can do when a car doesn't need an engine and mechanical connections.
"It shows you some of the design freedoms you get with a fuel cell," Ruselowski said. For example, the X-drive controller can slide from the left side to the right, so you can change drivers without switching seats, in case that ever becomes legal.
Real-life models
The first real hydrogen-powered cars for consumers will look traditional. GM brought four conventional-looking but fuel-cell-based minivans to Washington last week and will be loaning them to members of Congress.
Later this year, DaimlerChrysler plans to deliver 60 Mercedes A-Class sedans powered by fuel cells, 20 of them going to the United States, most likely in Washington, said spokesman Max Gates.
In October, Shell Hydrogen will open the first hydrogen refueling pump at one of its U.S. retail gas stations. It'll also be in Washington, where carmakers are shipping their prototype hydrogen-guzzlers to impress legislators.
You can get hydrogen by applying electricity to water. But the concern is that "you might move emissions out of the tailpipe, but you'll still have them," said Gates, because most electricity is still produced by polluting sources such as coal.
The hope hydrogen holds for environmentalists is that it at least opens the door to cleaner energy sources, such as wind or solar power. "Nuclear power actually is an interesting possibility," Baxley said.