GE Capital Fleet Services has announced the opening of its Vehicle Innovation Center, which the company says will serve as a facility to provide first-hand experience with alternative fuel vehicles and related GE technologies to businesses, industry groups and researchers.

Located in Eden Prairie, Minn., the new center showcases the latest in a growing array of alternative fuel vehicles in electric, natural gas, propane, hydrogen and other formats. GE notes that the facility reinforces the company's commitment to the deployment of more efficient vehicles in its fleet and in customer fleets.

The center features a private half-mile driving course and hosts alternative fuel vehicles from 20 automotive manufacturers. With 6,000 square feet of classrooms and showrooms, the center also allows visitors access to a variety of products and solutions from GE's ecomagination portfolio, including solutions for the smart grid, electric vehicle charging stations, and compressed natural gas technologies.

"We believe that businesses, through their company fleets, can lead the way in putting drivers across the country and around the world into cleaner, more productive vehicles," says Deb Frodl, chief strategy officer for GE Capital Fleet Services and global alternative fuel leader for GE. "The best way to accelerate adoption of alternative fuel cars and trucks is to experience them. Once they get behind the wheel, they can see that these vehicles are real and ready for action."