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Ford Shows “Airstream” Fuel Cell Hybrid Crossover at Detroit Auto Show

DETROIT, MI, JANUARY 7 - Ford Motor Co. unveiled another fuel cell vehicle idea here at the Detroit Auto Show today, the crossover Ford Airstream Concept.

Looking somewhat like a futuristic/retro cross of the classic Airstream trailers of the mid- and late-20th century and a modern minivan - in fact, the car was designed jointly by Ford and Airstream, Inc. - the concept vehicle is powered by a plug-in hydrogen hybrid fuel cell/battery system.

The 35 kW Ballard Power Systems HySeries fuel cell operates steady-state to merely recharge the 336 V lithium-ion battery pack - like an on-board generator. The batteries in turn drive the all-wheel drive system via electric motors. Ford says the battery pack is good for 25 miles of driving before the fuel cell kicks in to recharge the battery pack, and the total range with one tank of 4.5 kg of hydrogen is 305 miles. The hydrogen is stored at 5,000 psi.

The HySeries hybrid fuel cell system delivers the combined city/highway fuel economy equivalent of 41 miles/gallon, Ford said in its announcement today. Ford had announced the launch of another fuel cell vehicle at the December Los Angeles Auto Show where it introduced a fuel cell-powered Explorer SUV prototype (H&FCL Dec. 06). Both were designed and built with partial funding by the U.S. Energy Department.

The announcement comes almost in sync with General Motors’ electric drivetrain Volt launch (see current Jan. 07 H&FCL issue), with both companies staging back-to-back press conferences today in Detroit. Contact: Ford, Jennifer Flake, 313/337-6839, jflake1@ford.com.

(A fuller version of this report will appear in the February 2007 issue of H&FCL)

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