Hydrogen fuel research to get $350 million

DETROIT - The federal government anted up $350 million Tuesday to back a variety of research projects aimed at creating a world in which cars and trucks are powered by hydrogen.

Many of the hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles will be tested on California roads. Toyota, Honda and Nissan said they'll add 65 fuel-cell vehicles to their California fleets over the next five years. DaimlerChrysler said it would test some of its fuel-cell vehicles in California, and continue its work with the California Fuel Cell Partnership in Sacramento and with the University of California-Berkeley. Ford plans to test vehicles in Sacramento and Davis.

BP plans to construct 30 hydrogen fuel stations in the Sacramento area and elsewhere.

Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for creating a Hydrogen Highway system, where a hydrogen refueling system would be located every 20 miles along California's interstates.

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced the grants in Detroit, where automakers have spent billions of dollars to create hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles.

Private investment will put an additional $225 million into research over the next five years, bringing the total announced by Abraham to $575 million.

``The $575 million is just a down payment on new energy initiatives,'' Abraham said. ``This is to show that hydrogen is not something that is just abstract, but something that is real.''

Ford Motor and DaimlerChrysler both used the Detroit event to announce new initiatives to put at least 67 fuel-cell cars on U.S. roads by the end of the year. DaimlerChrysler said it wants to add 37 fuel-cell cars to U.S. fleets as soon as this summer. Ford said it plans to build up to 30 fuel-cell cars late this year. Ford's vehicles would be distributed in Detroit, Orlando, Fla., and in the Sacramento area, where they would be tested by the state of California, the city of Davis and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

Shell Oil expects to complete its first hydrogen fuel station in Washington, D.C., by the end of the summer. Shell is working with General Motors on the project. GM is already supplying a fleet of hydrogen-powered cars used for test drives by members of Congress.

The 130 research projects that received funding Tuesday -- which will be conducted at different sites across the country and include some of the biggest names in the automotive and energy industries -- will focus on producing hydrogen, storing it on vehicles and increasing consumer awareness.

Five research teams will receive $190 million in government funds over five years to test fuel-cell vehicles in real-world conditions; another $190 million will come from private funds. The teams will be led by GM, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Texaco Energy Systems and Air Products and Chemicals, based in Allentown, Pa.

The Department of Energy also will distribute $150 million over five years for hydrogen storage research and $13 million over three years for fuel-cell research.

Overall, the government grants will involve work by local universities (Stanford, UC-Berkeley, UC-Davis), national labs located in the state and government entities (California's Energy Commission and Air Resources Board among others) as well as area companies (SRI International in Menlo Park, Poly Fuel in Mountain View, Intel in Santa Clara, Flextronics in San Jose and Intematix in Moraga), according to a government news release.

Delphi will receive $3 million to develop fuel-cell auxiliary-power units for long-haul trucks. The units would allow a driver to operate the air conditioning, radio and computer without running the engine, which is a common practice today.

``It's a very comprehensive program that has brought together for the first time the major energy and the major automotive companies of the world to work on this extremely important challenge,'' Abraham said in his announcement.