Ars Technica Reports [gm.com] that U.S. Automotive Stalwart General Motors [gm.com] have teamed up with the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Naval Laboratory to incorporate hydrogen fuel-cells into a next generation of Navy unmanned undersea vehicles.
Paraphrasing from the source article, the U.S. Navy has turned to hydrogen fuel cells in lieu of batteries as a result of fuel cells being quicker to refuel. However, fuel cells pose some challenges as well -- underwater, it's not about weight or volume, but buoyancy as well. [ Submitter's Note: this statement may seem redundant from a physical standpoint, but implies the importance of the environmental aspects of the physical calculations ]
Although GM is not expected to receive feedback from the Navy's findings for national security reasons, the funding GM receives from the Navy could stimulate additional research of hydrogen fuel-cell technology.