GM, Honda to jointly build hydrogen fuel cells at Michigan factory in 2020

DETROIT/TOKYO -- General Motors and Honda Motor Co. plan to invest $85 million to build hydrogen fuel cell stacks for next-generation green vehicles at a factory in Michigan.The joint venture, Fuel Cell System Manufacturing will begin producing the fuel cell systems around 2020 at GM’s Brownstown Township, Mich., plant south of Detroit, where the automaker already produces battery packs for hybrid and electric vehicles. The 50-50 project will create 100 new jobs, the automakers jointly said Monday.The announcement comes as automakers scramble to highlight their commitment to U.S. manufacturing and job creation amid calls from President Donald Trump to build more vehicles in America. Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are among the automakers that have recently announced plans to expand existing U.S. manufacturing facilities and add production.Officials from GM and Honda, however, downplayed the Trump effect, saying the investment is part of a planned step in their joint development of a fuel cell system both companies intend to deploy in next-generation hydrogen fuel cell vehicles around 2020.That joint effort was first announced in 2013. GM and Honda say cooperating on developing a next-generation fuel cell will slash costs and boost efficiencies. The goal is a lighter, smaller, more powerful and less costly stack that uses hydrogen as the fuel to produce electricity to power cars.The jointly developed system will be deployed in distinct vehicles from each company. Plug-and-play

GM, Honda to jointly build hydrogen fuel cells at Michigan factory in 2020

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