Trucks

GM Bets on Hydrogen With Silverado MD Pilot Program

GM launches a hydrogen fuel-cell Silverado MD pilot program, challenging diesel with 300+ miles of range and zero emissions. Here’s why it matters.

Zoey

09 Sep 2025 — 2 min read

GM’s hydrogen-powered Silverado MD could redefine heavy-duty trucking with zero emissions and diesel-like range.

(Archive)

General Motors is betting big on hydrogen. The automaker has launched a new fuel-cell Silverado MD pilot program, designed to challenge diesel trucks with zero emissions and over 300 miles of range.

Backed by the Department of Energy’s SuperTruck 3 program, GM is putting its Hydrotec fuel-cell systems into Silverado 5500 MD-based trucks. On paper, the numbers are solid:

300+ miles of range per tank
19,500-pound GVWR (Class 5 max)
300 kW+ peak power on an 800-volt system

That’s serious capability for a truck designed to haul, tow, and work all day.

Why Hydrogen Matters

Unlike batteries, hydrogen doesn’t ask you to wait around for a charge. Refueling takes minutes, massive battery packs don’t weigh down payload capacity, and the only tailpipe emission is water vapor. For fleets that can’t afford downtime, that’s a game-changer.

The challenge, of course, is infrastructure. Hydrogen stations are rare, fuel costs are still high, and the tech requires safe storage at extreme pressure. But these are solvable problems—not deal-breakers. After all, gasoline infrastructure didn’t appear overnight either.

GM vs. Ford: The New Truck Battle

GM isn’t alone here. Ford has been testing hydrogen-powered F-Series medium-duty trucks since 2022 with SoCalGas and Ferguson Enterprises. Both automakers clearly see hydrogen as more than a science project—it’s a potential replacement for diesel in the hardest-working parts of their lineups.

The Bigger Picture

Toyota has already been pushing hydrogen hard, exploring both fuel-cell tech and even hydrogen-combustion engines. And considering hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, the long game feels inevitable: once costs drop and fueling infrastructure catches up, hydrogen could be the true successor to gasoline.

GM’s Silverado MD pilot isn’t just a test run—it’s a signal. Hydrogen isn’t some futuristic fantasy. It’s here, it works, and it might just be the technology that carries heavy-duty trucking into a cleaner, faster, more capable future.

AutoZealot Take: GM’s hydrogen bet isn’t about chasing trends — it’s about future-proofing the work truck. The Silverado MD pilot could be the bridge between diesel’s dominance and full electrification. If infrastructure catches up, hydrogen might just give GM the edge where EVs still struggle: uptime, power, and range.