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GM unveils its150-mile-range Electrovan
Page 55
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f:ENERAL Motors Corporation last week demonstrated its experimental electrically powered fuel cell van, the Electrovan, at Warren, Michigan. General Motors also disclosed advanced work by its Allison division, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Defense Research Laboratories, Santa Barbara, California, on a lithium-chlorine fuel cell, a type of hightemperature molten metal cell of the alkali-metal halide couple type, for converting chemical energy directly into electricity.
Executive vice-president Edward N. Cole disclosed that studies leading up to the Electrovan dated back more than 10 years. They involved not only GM's central staff organization but also several motor vehicle components divisions. In addition, major help was received from the Union Carbide Corporation in developing the largest hydrogen oxygen fuel cell system of its kind in the world for the Electrovan.
The system supplies a continuous output of approximately 32 kilowatts and a peak of 160 kilowatts and consists of 32 thin electrode modules in series beneath the vehicle's cargo space. Electrovan's range, with its liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel tanks, is approximately 150 miles, depending on load and traffic conditions.