Even through bankruptcy proceedings, General Motors did not abandon its fuel cell vehicle (FCV) program. And now that the overall company is back on track, more progress is being announced inside of Project Driveway. There was a hint of this as last week I received an email saying there would be a big Project Driveway announcement this week.

The big announcement is that GM has come up with a next generation hydrogen fuel cell for FCVs that is supposed to be “production-intent”. This new fuel cell is 220 lbs lighter than the previous fuel cell and uses 1/3 less platinum.

So far in the Project Driveway program, GM has built 119 of the 200 promised Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles, logging over 1.3 million miles. One of the sticking points that GM has not addressed however, is the life expectancy of the new fuel cell.

The fuel cell used in current and previous versions of the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell had a life expectancy of around 50,000 miles, which is far short of the 150,000 to 200,000 mile life expectancy for which many hydrogen car producers are striving.

The projected 2015 price tag on the new generation production intent fuel cell has not been disclosed. But, it would be a safe bet to say that changing out this fuel cell is going to be more expensive than swapping out an internal combustion engine, or a lithium ion battery pack on a hybrid car.

So, what GM needs to do with its fuel cells within this next 5 years, is lower costs, use less or no platinum, extend the life expectance to at least 150,000 miles or above and continue to push for more H2 refueling infrastructure to be built by 2015 to support the production of its FCVs.

If the research and development achieved in the last 5 years is any indicator, then these goals are very do-able.

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According to CEO Ronny Bar-Gadda of Genesys LLC there is a new technology that he’s invented called RET (radiant energy transfer) that is a breakthrough in producing hydrogen from water. According to Mr. Bar-Gadda, this may just be the disruptive technology the H2 community has been waiting for in regard to producing cost effective hydrogen from any feedstock of water.

The RET system is expected to provide head to head competition with the most efficient electrolysis systems on the market today. According to the video the RET device uses components from both a simple microwave oven and proprietary Genesys components to show that the device can be manufactured in a cost effective manner.

According to Genesys, “The principle of the technology relies on the unique properties of the oxygen-hydrogen bond. By using electromagnetic radiation tuned to the OH bond energy it is possible to break the bond with a minimum amount of energy. The rate of hydrogen production using this technology far exceeds that of electrolytic processes. RET is a continuous process technology that also operates at room temperature. RET is modular and easily scaleable as well as carbon neutral. As a result of this revolutionary approach, RET modules may be added or subtracted very quickly to respond to changes in hydrogen demand.”

Since the Genesys RET technology relies on water (or steam) as a feedstock, there are a several renewable ways to go about using this system. The first method would be to use wind or solar to heat the water into steam and then break the bonds using the RET system.

Another method would be to use geothermal wells, abandoned oil wells, or the steam from online power plants as sources for the high temperature cracking of steam into hydrogen and oxygen. Landfills and waste treatment plants may also be used to provide the H2O feedstock for the Genesys RET system. The Genesys RET technology is a hydrogen on demand system. It is capable of provide hydrogen fuel near the customer of an H2 car, which I take to mean produced in a decentralized manner near the fueling station.

But, the device also looks as if it could be downsized and create hydrogen on demand at the fueling station itself, thereby side-stepping the need for a huge hydrogen distribution system to be built. If this RET hydrogen production method lives up to it’s billing this could be the disruptive technology that hydrogen car advocates have been waiting for that could provide rapid commercialization for H2 cars.

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