GM and Honda announced the start of production at FCSM, the first large-scale manufacturing joint venture building fuel cells.
FCSM was established in Brownstown, Michigan, in January 2017 with a joint investment of 85 million dollars. The 70,000-square-foot facilities have already created 80 jobs.
Both companies will utilise world-class hydrogen energy solutions built at FCSM across various product applications and commercial projects.
“This is a historic day for the industry as GM and Honda are the first fuel cell system manufacturing joint venture to begin volume production of fuel cells for transportation and beyond,” said Suheb Haq, president of FCSM.
“Both companies’ ongoing investment and commitment are driving our success at FCSM. This commitment aligns with our mission to manufacture high-quality, durable, and affordable hydrogen fuel cell systems for a wide range of applications and customers,” continued Haq.
Meanwhile, Tetsuo Suzuki, vice president of FCSM, noted: “We integrated Honda and GM strengths to create the most capable production system in this joint venture.”
“We brought a mass production mindset with attention to detail and a focus on high quality, and we are now ready to meet customer needs for future fuel cell technology applications and the onset of the hydrogen era,” Suzuki added.
Honda and GM engineers began joint development of the next-generation fuel cell system in 2013.
In addition to enhancing fuel cell system performance, GM and Honda collaborated to double durability compared to the 2019 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell by using corrosion-resistant materials and improving low-temperature operation.
Together, the two companies also focused on reducing development and manufacturing costs by leveraging economies of scale, advancing cell design, streamlining auxiliary equipment support, using common sources, and reducing the use of costly precious metals.
Thanks to this collaboration, the new fuel cell systems will be one-third less expensive to manufacture compared to the cost of the 2019 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell system.
Significant efforts have also been made at FCSM to ensure the highest levels of quality while improving manufacturing productivity.
The company incorporates many first-of-its-kind methods to automate the production of membrane electrode assemblies and fuel cell assembly.
Both GM and Honda engineering teams and relevant intellectual property and expertise from the companies have been integrated into FCSM to create affordable and commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell systems for use in a variety of energy management and emission-free propulsion applications.
