We are getting a lot (A LOT) of news about new battery powered hybrids of some sort or another that will either be 100% battery or some kind of combination of battery and gas power.  GM has shown us that they are commited to that market with the new Chevy Volt.  GM, however, isn’t putting all of it’s car eggs into that one basket.

The Chevy Equinox is a 100% electric car, it has no emissions, but it can be refueled in a matter of a few minutes and be off for another 400+ mile journey.  Faster to refuel than 100% battery powered EVs, and less (no) emissions than the gas powered hybrids.  This is done by using fuel cell technology.

The Equinox runs on hydrogen that combines with oxygen to create electricity.  The car needs to be refueled with hydrogen ever few hundred miles, but you can do that at hydrogen refueling stations in a matter of minutes.  The only emission it produces is water so it’s 100% green.  The electricity created by the fuel cell is used to power an electric motor, so the Equinox fuel cell is an electric vehicle – just like other EVs.  It just gets the electricity in a different manner than the other EVs.

The biggest hurdle for the equinox is the infrastructure, there are very few places that you can go and refuel with hydrogen.  If that were to ever change you can expect fuel cell vehicles to be common place in the future.

Recently, testing of the Equinox fuel cell has surpassed the 1 million mile mark.  This is important because it means that the vehicle has been thoroughly tested and is closer to beinga  production vehicle.  It won’t be available in all markets, but in those that do have the option it can make a big impact.