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Engineering Solutions by Design News Talks General Motors Fuel Cells Taking to the Skies
Charlie Freese explains how General Motors has built its fuel cells into scalable modules for Leibherr-Aerospace's airliner auxiliary power units.
1 Min Read
General Motors, Adobestock
General Motors and Liebherr-Aerospace have signed a deal to create modular hydrogen fuel cells that can replace the traditional turbine-powered auxiliary power units located in the tails of airliners. These APUs provide electric power for the plane's systems when its engines aren't running. Charlie Freese, GM's executive director of Global Hydrotec, electrification, defense, and innovation has dialed in to the Engineering Solutions by Design News podcast to tell us how his team has managed to cram an entire fuel cell into the alotted space while also pointing out some unexpected benefits of replacing traditional APUs with hydrogen fuel cells.
General Motors and Liebherr-Aerospace will join forces to develop a hydrogen fuel cell-based demonstrator system for aircraft. The collaboration is based on GM’s HYDROTEC technology, like this hydrogen fuel cell stack.
About the Author
Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.
A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.
Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.
Dan, testing the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish. ANDY MORGAN/ASTON MARTIN
He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.
He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.
He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.
He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.
Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.
He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
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