General Motors has achieved a key milestone in its quest to put a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle on sale, announcing that it now has a drivable version of its Sequel concept car.

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According to The Associated Press (AP), GM chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner said on Thursday, during a speech at the Centre For Automotive Research management briefing seminars in Traverse City, Michigan, that the Sequel, which looks like a shrunken minivan and has a range of 300 miles (500km), will be shown to reporters next month in California.


Rival Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda already have a small number of fuel cell-powered vehicle prototypes on test with fleet operators in the state.


AP said production and sale of the Sequel is a long way off, noting that Wagoner wouldn’t give a time estimate for when the public could buy one.


“That’s rocket science when you get in that car,” he said. This is the most sophisticated product, technologically advanced product, I think we’ve ever made in the history of GM.”

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The news agency noted that nearly all automakers are testing hydrogen-powered vehicles in the US, with some in use by government workers – the testing has received support from a five-year, $US1.2bn hydrogen initiative first announced by President Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address.


The pollution-free technology potentially gives off zero emissions and a sustainable source of energy produced when hydrogen and oxygen are mixed. Experts reportedly say they could begin arriving in showrooms by 2020, or perhaps earlier.


But many obstacles exist including the high cost, relatively short range and a lack of fuelling stations, The Associated Press added.