GM R & D chief speaks out on fuel cells

(AutoWeek's' German sister publication) interviewed GM's VP for R&D and strategic planning Larry Burns to chat about the future of fuel cell technology. Despite analysts' predictions that we won't see fuel cells until 2015 or later, Burns still adheres to GM's 2010 date for commercially viable fuel cell vehicles.

GM has been able to cut fuel cell costs by half over the past few years, but of concern to Burns is the fragmentation in the market — everybody's working on their own technology. Like the pairing up that has gone on around hybrids of late, Burns says that collaboration "makes sense."

Burns also discusses infrastructure, what the vehicle should cost (no more than a diesel at first produciton run), how to get the hydrogen, and other fuel-cell related topics of interest.