The need to provide environmentally-friendly options has been slowly expanding from Asian and European auto-makers to our own struggling American brands. And it looks like General Motors’ new Cadillac Provoq concept could be a light in the darkness.

The Provoq is a medium-sized crossover vehicle with a modern Cadillacs’ distinctive design language, but it brings a whole new element to their “Art & Science” concept: Fuel cell power. With hydrogen tanks under the floor, and a fuel-cell stack under the hood, this Caddy trades gas-guzzling gluttony for zero-emission efficiency. Helping the fuel cell are several electric motors, a roof-mounted solar panel and special low-resistance Michelin tires. All of this combines for an ample 300-mile range and performance on par with normal crossovers.

While the Provoq is only a concept for now, many of its elements are closer to fruition than you may think. Hydrogen fuel cell concepts are no longer rolling chassis at car shows, but actual running experiments. We recently wrote about Honda’s release of a limited run of fuel cell powered cars. Like the Honda, though, one of the main questions surrounding the Cadillac Provoq is the availability of hydrogen fuel stations. Without a larger network of stations, the cars would be frustratingly tethered to small regions.

The Provoq is next-generation for Cadillac, who started its slow foray into alternative energy recently with the Escalade hybrid. Using the same hybrid system as GM siblings Tahoe and Yukon, the hybrid Escalade is no innovator, still using a gas-drinking 6-liter V8 engine.

While augmented by cylinder-deactivation and an electric motor, large SUVs, in whatever guise, are still missing the point of environmental-friendliness. Development of such lame-duck technologies should be forgone in favor of more effort towards making zero-emission vehicles like the Provoq a reality.