GM, Honda begin U.S. fuel cell production toward replacing diesel

BROWNSTOWN, Mich. – General Motors and Honda Motor have begun commercial production of hydrogen fuel cell systems in a step toward offering alternative zero-emissions solutions beyond battery-electric vehicles.

The fuel cell systems are produced through a 50-50 joint venture between the automakers at an $85 million facility in suburban Detroit. The companies, which are marketing and selling products separately, are calling the “large-scale” production at the joint venture the first of its kind in the U.S.

Many in the automotive industry view fuel cells as a replacement for use cases for diesel fuel in things such as generators, heavy-duty trucks, semitrucks and construction equipment, among others.

Executives for both automakers and the Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC joint venture, as it’s called, said the start of commercial production marked a historical moment for the technology, which has been under development for decades.

And it comes at a key time for fuel cells.

Tightening emissions regulations, technological improvements, and heightened attention on environmental, social and corporate-governance, or ESG, efforts have created a clear opportunity, officials said.

“We’re getting some scale capability; we’re bringing costs down. And now we can start to move it into these segments where before it wasn’t really feasible,” Charlie Freese, executive director of GM’s “Hydrotec” fuel cell products, told CNBC during an event at the plant.

“If we don’t plant the seeds of future use for hydrogen today, it’ll just be delayed even further,” said Jay Joseph, vice…