General Motors has announced that it is cooperating with the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory to incorporate automotive hydrogen fuel cell systems into the next generation of Navy unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs).
Hydrogen fuel cells convert high-energy hydrogen efficiently into electricity, resulting in vehicles with greater range and endurance than those powered with batteries. Under the ONR’s Innovative Naval Prototype program for Large Displacement UUVs, energy is a core technology in the Navy’s goals for vehicles with more than 60 days endurance.
The Naval Research Laboratory recently concluded an evaluation of a prototype UUV equipped with a GM fuel cell at the heart of the vehicle powertrain. The tests, a key step in the development of an at-sea prototype, were conducted in pools at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Carderock, Md.
“Our in-water experiments with an integrated prototype show that fuel cells can be game changers for autonomous underwater systems,” said Frank Herr, ONR’s department head for Ocean Battlespace Sensing. “Reliability, high energy, and cost effectiveness — all brought to us via GM’s partnering — are particularly important as Navy looks to use UUVs as force multipliers.”
Hydrogen fuel cell propulsion technology helps address two major automotive environmental challenges: petroleum use and carbon dioxide emissions. Fuel cell vehicles can operate on renewable hydrogen from sources like wind and biomass stored for later use. Once converted to electricity, water vapor is the only emission. Recharging takes only minutes.
GM’s fuel cells are compact and lightweight, and have high reliability and performance. Lower cost is achievable through volume production. These attributes match the goals of the Navy to develop reliable, affordable systems.
“The collaboration with the Navy leveraged what we learned in amassing more than 3 million miles of real-world experience with our Project Driveway fuel cell program,” said Charlie Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuel Cell Activities. “Our customers will benefit from additional lessons we learn about the performance of fuel cells in non-automotive applications that will be useful in GM’s drive to offer fuel cells across consumer markets.”
问：中方已向美方归还了无人潜航器，归还地点具体在哪里？是以高调还是低调方式归还？中方是否拆解并研究过该潜航器？
外交部发言人华春莹
答：看来你对这件事确实非常关心。但我首先想提醒你，昨天美国国务院发言人柯比再三纠正，说这个无人潜航器不是DRONE，而是UUV。
今天中午，中国国防部新闻局已经发布了消息。中美双方经过友好协商，于12月20日也就是今天中午，在南海有关海域顺利完成美国无人潜航器的移交工作。至于有关细节，我不了解。你如关心，不妨直接询问国防部新闻局。
