GM has been working on hydrogen cells since the 1960s. In their Heritage museum, they have a Corvair van that ran on hydrogen.
Why invest in hydrogen?
Simple. It's virtually limitless. It's sustainable, it's everywhere, and in my opinion, it's the future. EVs don't solve the problem. They use coal-fired plants to charge batteries made of a non-renewable resource. That's putting the cart before the horse.
I normally hate Toyota, but I applaud them for having the balls to bring this to market. BMW also has tested hydrogen cars.