DaimlerChrysler AG announced in early October that it will come out with the world's first fleet of fuel cell passenger cars to be sold in the United States and Europe next year. The vehicles will sport the body of the compact Mercedes-Benz A-Class car and will incorporate fuel cell technology—which chemically combines hydrogen and oxygen from the air to generate the electricity that powers the electric motor. This reaction does not produce smog or greenhouse gas emissions—just water vapor.

Approximately 60 of these cars, to be called the F-Cell, will serve in government fleets in the United States and Europe next year. This will be a test of their performance under normal everyday conditions.

"The hydrogen-powered F-Cell cars are genuine zero-emission vehicles which have left the research stage and are now going to field testing," says Ferdinand Panik, head of fuel cell development at DaimlerChrysler.

The wide marketing of fuel cell vehicles still remains in the distant future, however. Significant obstacles remain. An infrastructure of hydrogen refueling stations needs to be built so pure hydrogen can be as readily available as gasoline. In addition, the technology's cost has to be drastically reduced. In fact, several industry representatives say that it is currently up to 100 times more expensive to produce a given amount of power with a fuel cell than with an internal-combustion engine. Moreover, automakers still need to figure out how to mass-produce fuel cell vehicles.

These stumbling blocks have not stopped automakers from scrambling to bring their fuel cell cars to market. In late July, Honda Motor Co.'s Honda FCX fuel cell car became the first in the world to be certified by the government, laying the groundwork for the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles, American Honda Motor Co. said. A few days later, Nissan Motor Co., the third biggest Japanese automaker, hastened the scheduled release of its fuel cell cars from 2005 to 2003.

By mid-decade, most of the six largest automakers will be selling limited- volume fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Even slow-to-the-table GM, which is one of the few that hasn't committed to a production date yet, has big fuel cell plans. "We want to be the first carmaker to sell one million fuel cell vehicles," says Larry Burns, GM technology chief, who is more concerned with quality than time-to-market.

The race to develop fuel cell technology is also heating up among countries. Last month, the European Commission announced plans to significantly increase research into fuel cell technology to keep pace with the United States and Japan. Total research funding in the 15 EU countries is reportedly $50-$60 million per year—one third of U.S. funding and one-fourth of Japan's. For the 2003-2006 period, research funding will be boosted by a substantial but unspecified amount from its $120 million total in the 1997-2002 period.

Sources: DaimlerChrysler Fuel Cell Cars Set
Associated Press, Oct. 8, 2002
http://news.yahoo.com

EU to Increase Fuel Cell Research
Associated Press, Oct. 10, 2002
http://news.yahoo.com

DaimlerChrysler to Launch Fuel Cell Vehicles in 2003
Associated Press, Oct. 8, 2002
http://news.yahoo.com

Hy-Wire Act
Paul A. Eisenstein
Popular Mechanics, Aug. 2002
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/2002/8/hy_wire_hybrid/index.phtml