In addition to financial backing, Ballard's partners have also brought significant marketing, systems development and manufacturing expertise to assist the Company in achieving its aggressive development and commercialization goals. The law includes fuel cell in the definition of electric power. In addition, some state and local governments, including New York and air quality management districts in California, offer more incentives. The extremely efficient fuel cell powertrain allows the convenient use of methanol fuel which is processed on board into hydrogen. The fuel cell uses oxygen from the air and hydrogen to form electricity.
Water vapor is the main by product of the process.
An Icelandic consortium,Vistorka hf. Each of the three other partners has equal rights and shares and already has expertise in this field. DaimlerChrysler has been developing the fuel cell technology for automobile applications since 1991 and intends to mass-produce fuel cell vehicles for commercialisation by the middle of the coming decade. Norsk Hydro has long experience in the production of hydrogen and hydrogen carriers and the development of hydrogen systems. DCH Hydrogen Sensors are fast and chemically selective indetecting very small amounts of hydrogen gas.