Ford Motor Company is delivering five hybrid hydrogen Ford Focus Fuel Cell vehicles to two Michigan cities, Taylor and Ann Arbor, as part of a five-city 30-car program to conduct real world testing of fuel cell technology.

The Ford Focus Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) represents Ford’s commitment to advancing the use and development of alternative-fuel technologies. It is one of the industry’s first hybridized fuel cell vehicles combining the improved range and performance of hybrid technology with the overall benefits of a fuel cell. Ford has been conducting fuel cell research for more than 10 years and believes fuel cell vehicles could be commercially viable by the middle of the next decade.

The Ford Focus FCV uses a fuel cell powertrain supplied by Ballard Power Systems, the world leader in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology. The FCV is hybridized with the addition of a nickel metal–hydride battery pack and a brake-by-wire electro-hydraulic series regenerative braking system. The fuel cell engine converts chemical energy into electric energy using hydrogen fuel and oxygen from air. The electric energy then powers the vehicle’s electric drive motor, producing only water vapor and heat as by-products.

This year, Ford is delivering evaluation fleets of Focus FCVs for placement in demonstration programs in the United States, Canada, and Germany. This includes five vehicles now in use in Vancouver, British Columbia; five cars delivered to the Sacramento (Calif.) Municipal District; five cars delivered to the State of Florida; and the five delivered in Michigan today.

[ Source ] [ Via GreenCarCongress ]