Auto Makers to Form Fuel-Cell Partnership
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DETROIT — The Department of Energy and Detroit’s Big Three auto makers will announce today that they are forming a partnership to promote the development of emission-free fuel-cell vehicles, an automotive source said.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham will announce government and industry funding expected to run well beyond $100million for research into fuel cells, which use hydrogen to produce electricity without emitting pollutants.
Under the program, to be called Freedom Car, the government will join General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler in fuel-cell research, which each of the auto makers has been pursuing for several years.
Freedom Car replaces the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, a program formed in 1993 to develop an 80-miles-per-gallon vehicle for production by 2004.
In 1993, mid-size passenger sedans were the biggest sector of the U.S. auto market. But with sport-utility vehicles filling that sector today, the cars that the Big Three were developing have lost relevance, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The $1.5-billion PNGV did not specify a technology to be used to achieve 80 mpg. Diesel-electric hybrid engines, for instance, were considered a leading candidate.
The Freedom Car program, spearheaded by the Energy Department, is “about stepping up to a hydrogen economy” and basing vehicle propulsion on fuel cells, the source said.
Environmental groups gave the news a mixed reception.
The program “sounds great from an environmental standpoint” because it would eliminate federal support of diesel-power development, which comes with environmental problems, said Jason Mark, Berkeley-based director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ clean-vehicles program.
But Mark and another expert also said they worry that the auto makers will use the program to lobby against congressional efforts to boost fuel-economy requirements for gasoline engines.
The announcement will be made at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Expectations of the new government plans powered stocks of fuel-cell developers.
Plug Power Inc. rose $3.38 to $12.04, SatCon Technology Corp. jumped $1.39 to $6.40, Ballard Power Systems Inc. gained $4.55 to $34.96 and FuelCell Energy leaped $3.93 to $21.85.
