End for Hydrotec: General Motors Ends Fuel Cell Development for Passenger Cars

Alternative Drives End for Hydrotec: General Motors Ends Fuel Cell Development for Passenger Cars

2025-10-22 From Stefanie Eckardt | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

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General Motors announces the end of fuel cell development for passenger cars. The U.S. company now sees little potential in hydrogen fuel cell cars and is focusing more on battery-electric vehicles.

General Motors stops its fuel cell development for passenger cars.(Image: © 2025 John F. Martin and General Motors. This image is protected by copyright but provided for public relations, editorial and) — General Motors stops its fuel cell development for passenger cars.
(Image: © 2025 John F. Martin and General Motors. This image is protected by copyright but provided for public relations, editorial and)

Ranges of up to 435 miles and a refueling process that is similarly quick to that of a vehicle with a combustion engine—fuel cell cars are considered an alternative to battery-electric vehicles. However, infrastructure and efficiency leave much to be desired. Not only in Germany. According to the US Department of Energy, there are only 61 public H₂ stations in the US, almost all of which are located in California.

Focus on BEVs

No wonder the fuel cell is on its way out in the US, especially now that General Motors is pulling the plug on fuel cell cars. The automaker is halting the development of fuel cell-powered passenger cars and canceling its plans to build the announced Hydrotec plant in Detroit—a $55 million project that was supposed to create 144 new jobs in collaboration with Piston Automotive. According to the company, the automaker will instead focus its research and development resources as well as its capital on batteries, charging technology, and electric vehicles, rather than on hydrogen, whose potential for passenger cars has yet to take hold.

Heavy-Duty Transport Certainly of Interest

General Motors identifies industrial sectors such as backup power supply, mining, and heavy-duty transport as promising for the fuel cell business, in contrast to its use in passenger cars. Therefore, the company is continuing the production of hydrogen fuel cells for data centers and power generation through Fuel Cell System Manufacturing, a joint venture between GM and Honda. (se)

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