Ford focus on hybrid hydrogen-powered vehicles

Leading car makers, including Ford Motor Company are developing more and more eco-friendly vehicles, thanks to a global awareness to reduce pollutants produced through harmful tailpipe emissions.

The American car company has introduced a variety of technologies including  hydrogen-powered vehicles to deal with the challenges of global warming and rising oil prices.

Ford is the world's first automaker to produce commercial vehicles powered by internal combustion engines that are fueled exclusively with hydrogen, said Sue Cischke, the company senior vice president, sustainability, environment and safety engineering.

As part of a worldwide, seven-city programme to conduct real world testing of fuel cell technology, Ford has already introduced  a fleet of 30 hydrogen-powered  vehicles called Ford Focus fuel cell vehicles on the road, which has covered more than 650,000 miles since its inception.

With this fleet on the ground, information is being generated in different local environmental conditions that can be integrated into future fuel cell vehicle propulsion systems.

In addition, Ford has partnered with the Wayne County Airport Authority and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments to deliver two Ford E-450 hydrogen-fueled buses for Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Such eco-friendly shuttles between terminals will reduce CO2 emission by 99.7 per cent, the company stated.

The Ford E-450 shuttle buses are powered by a 6.8-liter V-10 internal combustion engine that runs exclusively on hydrogen fuel and have near zero emissions of regulated pollutants and greenhouse gases. These buses are also all-weather capable.

Ford has delivered these ultra-clean buses to sites in cities such as Orlando, Las Vegas and a few Canadian provinces.