Car makers believe they could eventually replace internal combustion engines over the next several decades. Many automakers, including Ford, General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler, Toyota and Honda have all committed to building small numbers of fuel cell vehicles by 2004. Ford unveiled its Focus FCV fuel cell car in Las Vegas on Monday, saying the car was a production prototype of the one it hopes to sell in four years. As built today, the FCV has a range of about 100 miles and power that's comparable to a current Focus, Kopf said. A road test there is scheduled to start in November.
Fuel cells have several problems that have to be worked out before they're ready for widespread use.
For starters, fuel cell prototypes are far more expensive than regular cars, even in mass production. And the Focus FCV runs off compressed hydrogen gas, a complication because hydrogen is volatile, hard to store and hard to transport. Kopf said the Focus FCV will likely be sold for use in business fleets that can install equipment for handling hydrogen. He said reducing the cost of fuel cell power was the biggest technical challenge, one that Ford won't likely solve before 2010. Recipients should seek permission to reprint the article from the source listed above.