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Ford unveils world's first drivable fuel-cell hybrid with plug-in capability

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Tideland Prius, Jan 24, 2007.

  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Washington, D.C. - Ford has unveiled what it calls the world's first drivable fuel cell hybrid electric plug-in, which combines an onboard hydrogen fuel cell generator with lithium-ion batteries. The Ford Edge fuel-cell hybrid is built on a flexible powertrain architecture, enabling Ford to use new fuel and propulsion technologies as they develop, without redesigning the vehicle.

    The company says the vehicle, which uses the new HySeries Drive, delivers more than 5.7 L/100 km (49.5 mpg Imp) with zero emissions. If the car is driven less than 80 km per day, the average jumps to more than 2.9 L/100 km (97 mpg Imp).

    Full Article

    Edit: In case some of you decide not to read the article

    Quote from article:
    The system uses a hydrogen fuel cell supplied by Ballard Power Systems of Burnaby, B.C. The company says that, "clearly, many significant technical hurdles need to be overcome before a vehicle such as the Edge with HySeries Drive can become a reality. Fuel cell vehicles remain expensive, costing millions of dollars each. And the single biggest hurdle to plug-ins remains the cost of lithium-ion batteries. Much work also needs to be done to make fuel cells more durable and to create a hydrogen infrastructure."
     
    #1 Tideland Prius, Jan 24, 2007
  2. SomervillePrius

    SomervillePrius New Member

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    Similar to this article and mostly (badly needed) PR. It's too bad the Ford's hybrid technology seem to have stopped at the not so popular Escape. I think they picked the wrong car for the job. If they sell a hybrid edge or freestyle I think they would do better. The Escape is such an unpractical car. Too small to be a station wagon, and to big to get good mileage. Only lasting appeal (to me) is four wheel drive.

    I hope they produce another hybrid soon! I think the technology they developed is promising and using better batteries they should be able to compete with Toyota and I would def. be a potential customer.
     
    #2 SomervillePrius, Jan 24, 2007
  3. soccerdad

    soccerdad New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SomervillePrius @ Jan 24 2007, 08:55 AM) [snapback]379994[/snapback]</div>
    I forget, did Ford license the technology from Toyota to make the Hybrid Escape?
     
    #3 soccerdad, Jan 24, 2007
  4. dipper

    dipper Senior Member

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    Prototype, not for sale = vaporware
     
    #4 dipper, Jan 24, 2007
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(soccerdad @ Jan 24 2007, 02:01 PM) [snapback]380297[/snapback]</div>
    No.

    Ford made their own hybrid system. They paid Toyota a bounty because their system had some similar bits to Toyota's so the bounty was paid to avoid a lawsuit.
     
    #5 Tideland Prius, Jan 24, 2007
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