Daimler, Ford, Nissan team up on fuel cells

Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG have formed a partnership aimed at speeding up the commercialization of fuel cell electric vehicle technology.

Together, the automakers plan to develop a common fuel cell stack and fuel cell system to be used in what they describe as "highly differentiated, separately branded fuel cell electric vehicles" as early as 2017.

As part of the new partnership, made official at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, the automakers say they plan to help define global specifications, component standards and develop infrastructure solutions necessary to allow fuel cell electric vehicles to be mass-marketed.

Fuel cells generate electricity via an electro-chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, emitting water vapor as exhaust. One technical challenge is the size and cost of the on-board tank that stores hydrogen under high pressure.

"We are convinced that fuel cell vehicles will play a central role for zero emission mobility in the future. This cooperation will make technology available for many customers around the globe," said Thomas Weber, head of R&D at Daimler, at Monday's announcement.

Confirmation of the partnership between Ford, Nissan and Daimler for fuel cell electric vehicle technology comes less than a week after BMW and Toyota announced they had entered into a similar joint venture.

By Greg Kable