Under the alliance, each company will invest equally in the technology. They plan to develop a common fuel cell system that the companies will use to power their own vehicles. The companies also plan to take advantage of their combined size to reduce costs.
Many automakers have been testing the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for years, but so far haven’t been able to bring costs down enough to sell the vehicles in mass markets. The zero-emissions cars have great potential to cut pollution and reduce the world’s reliance on oil for transportation.
The alliance between Ford Motor Co., of Dearborn, Mich.; Daimler AG of Germany, maker of Mercedes vehicles; and the joint operations of France’s Renault SA and Japan’s Nissan Motor Co., is another example of global automakers combining forces to develop engines and other new technology. The companies are trying to share expensive development costs, yet keep their products different.
Toyota Motor Corp. and BMW AG said earlier this month that they are working together on next-generation batteries for green vehicles called “lithium-air.” Their collaboration, first announced in late 2011, also is working on fuel cells with hopes of completing a vehicle by 2020. (Wash Post, AP)