Secret GM fuel cell research facility finally showing off

If you are looking for the General Motors Fuel Cell Division in Honeoye Falls, you may have some trouble finding it. The research facility that has been open since 1999 and employs more than 400 people is intentionally tucked away behind a field off the village's Main Street. Unlike other research labs, similar to the ones that come to mind from when I lived in New Jersey, there is no big GM sign on a sprawling lawn to mark the company's presence.

But tomorrow, I am sure that signs and balloons will be pointing the way to the facility's first public event at the General Motors Future Technology Showcase.

"It's true that when we started out, we were what you would call a secretive, black project," said Dan O'Connell, director of the Fuel Cell Group of General Motors. Due to the competitive nature of the automotive industry, the company kept its fuel cell developments under wraps to protect intellectual property.

"But now, it's time to welcome the community in to meet the people who are changing where the automotive industry is going — from fossil fuel emissions to zero emissions," O'Connell added.

Engineers at the GM facility will be on hand to welcome the public to the showcase from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at the facility.

Visitors can take a drive in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell and the Volt Extended Range vehicles. Also on display will be the EN-V, a two-seat, two-wheeled, networked electric vehicle. Test drivers will be accompanied not by salespeople but by the engineers who helped design the cars. Food and beverages will be available for purchase, and there will be hands-on activities to inspire the youngest budding engineers.

The expo is one of 54 GM open houses happening across the country as a way for the carmaker to thank the American public for supporting it through its bankruptcy and federal bailout, said O'Connell.

O'Connell frequently visits local schools and colleges in the Equinox in hopes of inspiring students to learn and excel in math and sciences so they can design cars of the future.

Source: The Democrat & Chronicle