GM should commit to upstate fuel-cell effort
It’s understandable that anything the beleaguered CEO of the bankrupt General Motors says about the company’s plans may be cause for concern.
What this icon of American business will look like in a year’s time, and the automotive investments it is willing and able to make, is one of the economy’s great unknowns.
Given that context of uncertainty, when CEO Fritz Henderson said recently that fuel-cell technology was still a ways from marketplace readiness and that the company’s efforts in that field needed efficiencies, prospects for the GM’s Honeoye Falls fuel-cell operation fell suddenly into doubt.
The company later said its commitment to fuel cells as part of its overall program had not diminished — a clarification that was not only wisely delivered but may have to be repeated as the company restructures.
The bottom line is this: Automotive fuel cells should be part of America’s drive for energy independence. And upstate New York should be on the front lines of the automobile industry’s efforts to develop top-shelf, competitive non-gasoline-powered vehicles.
The Honeoye Falls center employs 300 people, workers who ideally represent the cutting edge of a major commitment by automakers to research, plan and build new generations of cars in this region. The foundation is here. It should be built upon.
In the months ahead, New York’s congressional delegation should ensure that upstate New York’s role in the development of alternative-energy technologies remains strong. It is one of this region’s paths to the future.
