Posted on 9-1-2002

US Govt Dumps Fuel Efficiency For Fuel Cells

DETROIT, Michigan, January 9, 2002 (ENS) - The federal government is
changing its emphasis regarding developing cleaner vehicles, shifting from
high fuel economy cars to hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles.
Addressing an audience of auto industry executives, reporters and the
public at the Detroit Auto Show, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham today
announced a new cooperative automotive research partnership between the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Council for Automotive
Research (USCAR).

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said "I am pleased to announce a new
public private partnership between my department and the nation's
automobile manufacturers to promote the development of hydrogen as a
primary fuel for cars and trucks," Abraham said, noting that hydrogen
powered vehicles would help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. "Under
this new program, which we call Freedom CAR, the government and the private
sector will fund research into advanced, efficient fuel cell technology
which uses hydrogen to power automobiles without creating any pollution,"
explained Abraham. "The long term results of his cooperative effort will be
cars and trucks that are more efficient, cheaper to operate, pollution free
and competitive in the showroom."

The Freedom CAR - CAR stands for Cooperative Automotive Research - project
is intended to replace the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles
(PNGV) program, launched by the Clinton administration to promote the
development of high fuel efficiency vehicles. Gasoline powered 2002 Nissan
Altima won car of the year at the North American International Auto Show.
In March, 2000, America's Big Three automakers - General Motors, Ford Motor
Company and Daimler Chrysler Corporation - unveiled concept cars which
achieved close to 80 miles per gallon of gasoline using hybrid
gasoline-electric engines. The vehicles met some of the goals of the PNGV,
but were still years away from commercial production.

Secretary Abraham said that Freedom CAR will focus on the research needed
to develop technologies such as fuel cells and hydrogen from domestic
renewable sources. The program's long term goal is to develop technologies
for hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles that will require no foreign oil
and emit no harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases. The transition of
vehicles from gasoline to hydrogen is viewed as critical both to reducing
carbon dioxide emissions and to reducing U.S. reliance on foreign oil, the
DOE says. America's transportation sector is 95 percent dependent on
petroleum, with transportation consuming 67 percent of the petroleum used
in the U.S. "Freedom CAR isn't an automobile, it's a new approach to
powering the cars of the future," said Abraham. "It will be a big win for
everyone - for consumers, for auto workers, for the environment and for our
nation's energy security."

Freedom CAR will require a significant financial investment by both the
federal government and the auto industry, and will involve a concerted long
term effort. A formal partnership agreement is expected within the next
few months.

David Hawkins, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Climate
Center, said the program "is
pointed in the right direction, but by itself it's going nowhere." Noting
that it is expected to take at least 10 years to bring a fuel cell powered
car to market, during which time Americans will buy about 150 million
vehicles, Hawkins warned that the U.S. "can't afford another research
program that just gives billions of dollars in subsidies to the automobile
industry with no commitment from them to actually produce advanced vehicles
for consumers to buy." "We have the technology to raise fuel economy
standards now for the cars that Americans will buy in the next decade,"
added Hawkins. "Doing that will save billions of barrels of oil while fuel
cell vehicles are being developed."

Earlier this week, the conservation group Environmental Defense released a
comprehensive study of fuel cell vehicles published by the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE), detailing the hurdles to be crossed before fuel
cell vehicles can see market success. "Compared to other long run options,
fuel cells hold great promise to address multiple concerns, including air
pollution, oil dependence, and global warming, while efficiently meeting
car customers' growing needs for on board electricity," said John DeCicco,
a senior fellow with Environmental Defense. But the study found that the
absence of market wide requirements for higher fuel economy blocks progress
on many vehicle technologies, including fuel cells.

Several auto makers have committed to putting fuel cell vehicles on the
road by 2005. But the report identifies a "deployability gap" of another 10
to 15 years before a business case can be made for mass market fuel cell
cars. "Closing this gap entails speeding up progress along several
challenging technical pathways," said DeCicco.

At the Detroit Auto Show's media preview on Monday, General Motors unveiled
its newest concept car - the AUTOnomy, a car powered by a hydrogen fed fuel
cell. GM says the AUTOnomy could achieve the fuel efficiency equivalent of
more than 100 miles per gallon, while producing no emissions other than
plain water.
The automaker is seeking 24 patents related to the AUTOnomy, and hopes to
have a working test model of the car by the end of the year.