GM Scraps Hydrogen Fuel Cell Program, Cites ‘Uncertain’ Future
General Motors is closing the books on one of its clean vehicle initiatives, namely its HYDROTEC hydrogen fuel cell development program. The parent company of Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC published a press release saying it would shut down the venture to focus its research and development efforts on other technologies, like EVs and batteries.
GM ended its hydrogen fuel cell development program to focus on ‘batteries, charging technology, and EVs’
In a recent press release, General Motors announced it would stop work on its next-generation hydrogen fuel cell program. The doomed initiative is GM’s HYDROTEC brand, the in-house operation behind the 77 kW Power Cube.
Granted, GM acknowledged the value of hydrogen fuel cell technology. But the brand also suggested that it would be better suited to focus on other technologies. “While hydrogen holds promise for specific high-demand industrial applications like backup power, mining, and heavy trucking, the path to reaching a sustainable business in fuel cells is long and uncertain,” the press release said.
The Detroit-based company placed some of the blame on “limited consumer adoption of fuel cell-powered vehicles” due to the high cost of entry and lack of filling infrastructure. It’s not just General Motors, either.
The US market offers a meager collection of hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars. For example, the Toyota Mirai and Honda CR-V Fuel Cell are a couple of the only hydrogen models for 2025, and they’re only on sale in California.
Instead of continuing with HYDROTEC, GM says it “is sharpening its focus on the technologies that show the clearest path to scale and customer value.” The press release went on to say it would “concentrate R&D and capital resources on batteries, charging technology, and EVs.”
General Motors says it will continue work on its joint hydrogen fuel cell program with Honda– but not for vehicles
The announcement doesn’t mean the end of GM’s entire hydrogen fuel cell effort. General Motors said it would continue producing fuel cells in its joint venture with Honda through Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC.
However, the venture won’t yield much for next-generation fuel cell-powered vehicles. Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC will continue producing the hydrogen power technology for data centers and power generation, per the GM press release.
