Gassing Up Gas-Free [Slide Show]

A look at the infrastructure necessary to make hydrogen hybrid automobiles a reality

SMART PUMP: Currently, the Equinox fuels with two connectors, as seen here at the Shell station in White Plains, N.Y. The rear cable sends pressure and temperature data to the fuel dispenser, while the side hose conveys hydrogen. Brad Beauchamp, seen here refueling the car, says hydrogen pumps with infrared sensors can communicate with the car directly through the nozzle on the pump. Nozzles will be updated over the next few months, eliminating the need for two connectors. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
SAFETY CAMERA: This spectral camera overlooking the hydrogen pump at the White Plains, N.Y., Shell station watches for hydrogen flames, invisible in daylight. Three more cameras surround the compression area of the station. Should they detect a hydrogen flame, an emergency crew is automatically called to monitor the fire and cut off the source. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
KEEPING TABS: Maintaining the Equinox fleet requires special tools and diagnostic software. The retrofits on this whiteboard are all completed; for the first few months of the road test the Ardsley facility has seen less demand for maintenance than expected. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
MAINTENANCE: Douglas Baker, supervising engineer for the Ardsley facility, checks out an Equinox, which doesn't require much regular maintenance besides an occasional look under the hood to check the air filter. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
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FLUID-FREE: Three layers of material guard the Equinox's hydrogen charge: a carbon-fiber tank, metal sheaths and a plated undercarriage to ward off debris. The sleek undercarriage is remarkably clean after 5,475 miles (8,810 kilometers) because of a lack of fluids in the Equinox: no oil, gas, transmission fluid or power steering fluid. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
UNDER THE HOOD: The Equinox is built on a conventional body with a fuel cell power train that includes a fuel cell system, a high-voltage battery, a bidirectional converter and a hydrogen storage system. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
EAST COAST FLEET: On the east coast, GM's hydrogen cars are retrofitted and maintained in Ardsley, N.Y. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
TRAVELING LIGHT: Helium is used to maintain pressure in the fuel tanks when the vehicles are prepared for overseas air or sea shipment. The inert gas allows the tanks to retain some pressure and reduces the potential of fuel tank contamination. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
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MAIN INGREDIENT: Hydrogen travels to the Ardsley station in pressurized tubes. Once at the station, it is compressed to even greater densities of either 5,000 or 10,000 pounds per square inch (351 or 703 kilograms of force per square centimeter). Courtesy of Eliot Caroom
FILL'ER UP: The East Coast Equinox fleet is fueled at either the Ardsley, N.Y., facility, which uses "green hydrogen" produced as an industrial by-product, or at a White Plains, N.Y., Shell station, which buys electricity generated by the Niagara Falls hydropower project in western New York State. Courtesy of Eliot Caroom

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