Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNLMilitary unveils fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles

Military unveils fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles

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By: Ian Scheuring

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The U.S. Army unveiled the world's first fleet of fuel cell vehicles during a ceremony at Fort Shafter on Wednesday morning.

The cars, sixteen specially-designed versions of Chevrolet's popular Equinox sport utility vehicle, are part of a research project between the military and General Motors designed to help develop sources of clean energy and reduce the need for fossil fuels. They have been converted to run using the fuel cells, a technology that utilizes renewable hydrogen as an energy source.

The vehicles are capable of traveling around 200 miles using a single charge while producing no emissions, making them cleaner than other alternative-fuel cars like hybrids.

George Ka'iliwai, Director of Resources and Assessment for the U.S. Pacific Command, hopes the U.S. military is setting a positive example for the clean energy community.

"Our pursuit of alternative energy is closely tied to our commitment to continually adapt to an ever-changing security environment," Ka'iliwai said. "Defense relationships and military approaches alone can't solve all of our energy challenges, but they underpin the initiatives we're taking within the Department of Defense to reduce the dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Senator Daniel Inouye also attended the event, saying that the fuel cell technology will help "reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help move our state and country forward."

The military hopes the test will help make the technology more widely available in the near future.

Copyright 2012 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

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