Rolls-Royce Revs Ups Fuel Cell Research

Luxury Car Maker Announces Plans To $3 Million To Develop Equipment For Electricity-Generating Cells

(AP)  Rolls-Royce says it is expanding its fuel cell research division in Ohio.

Company officials say they will invest $3 million in processing and testing equipment at Stark State College of Technology in North Canton, where Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems established its North American headquarters in 2006.

The move announced Monday is expected to create about 60 jobs and retain 32 others.

Fuel cells chemically generate electricity by combining hydrogen with oxygen from the air.

Ohio has invested over $11 million at the college to help establish a fuel cell prototyping center. The state has also has awarded $3.5 million directly to Rolls-Royce.

Rolls-Royce envisions global production of very large fuel cells - generating hundreds of thousands or millions of watts that could be used by electric utilities or nuclear plants.

[sjc_1]

As far as I know, GM still has its fuel cell Equinox program and just announced that the vehicles have logged more than 1 million miles. Project Driveway is still on going and has shown good results. It is the cost and reliability that are the big issues. Once they can get them to run over 100,000 miles and bring the cost down we may see a lot of manufacturers moving forward.

[rf35]

As usual, the foreign car company gets it. Why aren't the American companies investing in this? Before the crash, GM was supposedly developing a revolutionary fuel cell vehicle...what happened? Did it get squashed before or after the company failed? If American car companies can?t get it through their thick corporate skulls that non-gasoline power (specifically fuel cell) is the future of the automotive industry, then they deserve to fail. Lead, follow, or get out of the way!