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President Bush Briefed on Hybrid Hydrogen Testing at Ford
During a visit today to the Ford California Fuel Cell Partnership facility, President Bush was briefed on the testing of nine hybrid hydrogen Ford Focus Fuel Cell vehicles. These cars are part of a seven-city 30-car program to conduct real world testing of fuel cell technology.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB), the California Energy Commission (CEC), and the California Department of General Services (DGS) have each received one vehicle in addition to five already delivered to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Ford also conducts research in California with a Focus Fuel Cell vehicle.
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The Ford Focus Fuel Cell vehicle represents Ford's commitment to advancing the use and development of alternative-fuel technologies. Illustrating Ford's technical innovation, the Focus fuel cell 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.
Knowledge gained engineering Ford's Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrids has been shared between the fuel cell vehicle engineering team and the people working on both Ford gasoline powered hybrids on the road today, as well as future gasoline hybrids Ford will sell.
"The 180,000 miles accumulated has already helped us improve the reliability of these vehicles," said Greg Frenette, chief engineer of the Focus Fuel Cell vehicle program for Ford Motor Company.
Currently, Ford offers gasoline-electric hybrids in addition to E-85 ethanol capable vehicles and is actively engaged in the development of promising future alternatives including clean diesels, hydrogen internal combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
The Focus Fuel Cell vehicle is the most sophisticated environmental vehicle Ford has ever developed and its success is an important milestone in Ford's long-term strategy to move toward hydrogen and alternative-fuel powered cars and trucks as viable consumer transportation options.
In 2005, Ford delivered an evaluation fleet of Focus Fuel Cell vehicles for placement in demonstration programs in the United States, Canada, and Germany. This includes three vehicles operated by Ford, five vehicles now in use in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia; four vehicles operating in Berlin, Germany; five cars delivered to the Sacramento (Calif.) Municipal Utility District; five cars delivered to the State of Florida, five delivered in Michigan and the three cars at CARB, CEC and DGS. All of the programs are designed to promote development of hydrogen-based technologies.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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