M1 Abrams Tank Might Get Fuel Cells

In brief: The U.S. Army is exploring the idea of using fuel cell technology to give extra power to the M1 Abrams main battle tank series.

Vehicle in the news

Make/Model: M1 Abrams
Manufacturer: U.S. Army

The word

The Army's main battle tank has seen a lot of renditions and changes over its history. The latest idea is to add a fuel cell that can extract hydrogen from JP8 (jet fuel, the tank's fuel source).

The power from this fuel cell stack would be used as auxiliary power for the tank, saving engine idling and use. It would keep vital electronics like on-board computers, defense systems, etc. operational even when the tank itself is not "on."

And so ...

Other non-combat vehicles (such as communication's trucks) could also see benefit from fuel cells.

Photo credits: UPI

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