09 January 2002

Abraham Announces Program to Develop Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has announced a new public-private partnership between the Energy Department and the nation's major automakers to promote the development of hydrogen as a primary fuel for cars and trucks.

A January 9 press release reports that Abraham, speaking at the Detroit Auto Show, said that the new program called Freedom CAR (CAR stands for Cooperative Automotive Research) would develop technologies for hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles that will emit no harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases and reduce the nation's consumption of oil from foreign suppliers.

The Energy Department said the new program would replace the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), an ambitious government-industry effort aimed at quadrupling automobile fuel economy by the middle of this decade. The partnership program pushed the development of hybrid gasoline-electric cars.

The new Freedom CAR partnership, which includes Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler, will focus on technologies to enable mass production of affordable hydrogen-power fuel cell vehicles and the hydrogen supply infrastructure to support them. In recent years, the cost of fuel cells has dropped sharply but the major remaining obstacle is to create a refueling infrastructure.

Like a battery, a fuel cell produces energy from a chemical reaction when hydrogen is combined with oxygen. The only byproduct is water when pure hydrogen is used.

Experts predict cars using hydrogen-powered fuel cells will not be widely available for at least a decade. General Motors, the world's largest automaker, unveiled a fuel cell concept car at the Detroit Auto Show.

Following is the text of the DOE press release:

U.S. Department of Energy

January 9, 2002

Energy Secretary Abraham Launches Freedom CAR, Replaces PNGV

DOE and "Big Three" Automakers Announce Public-Private Partnership to Develop Hydrogen Economy of the Future

Detroit, Michigan - Against a backdrop of futuristic vehicles at the Detroit Auto Show, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and executives of Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler today announced a new cooperative automotive research partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR).

"In keeping with the President's National Energy Plan, I am pleased to announce a new public-private partnership between my department and the nation's automobile manufacturers to promote the development of hydrogen as a primary fuel for cars and trucks, as part of our effort to reduce American dependence on foreign oil," Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said.

"Under this new program, which we call Freedom CAR, the government and the private sector will fund research into advanced, efficient fuel cell technology which uses hydrogen to power automobiles without creating any pollution. The long-term results of this cooperative effort will be cars and trucks that are more efficient, cheaper to operate, pollution-free and competitive in the showroom. This plan is rooted in President Bush's call, issued last May in our National Energy Plan, to reduce American reliance on foreign oil through a balance of new domestic energy production and new technology to promote greater energy efficiency," Abraham said.

America's transportation sector is 95 percent dependent on petroleum, with transportation consuming 67 percent of the petroleum used in the U.S. The Federal government and its industry partners recognize the steady growth of imported oil needed to meet U.S. requirements -- today about 10 million barrels of foreign oil each day -- cannot continue.

Altering the overall U.S. petroleum consumption pattern will require a multi-tiered approach, including policy and research programs. Freedom CAR's (CAR stands for Cooperative Automotive Research) long-term goal is to develop technologies for hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles that will require no foreign oil and emit no harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases.

Freedom CAR isn't an automobile, it's a new approach to powering the cars of the future. The C-A-R in Freedom CAR stands for Cooperative Automotive Research and it will be a big win for everyone - for consumers, for auto workers, for the environment and for our nation's energy security.

Freedom CAR will focus on the research needed to develop technologies such as fuel cells and hydrogen from domestic renewable sources. It replaces and greatly improves upon the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program. The transition of vehicles from gasoline to hydrogen is viewed as critical both to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and to reducing U.S. reliance on foreign oil. Freedom CAR will focus on technologies to enable mass production of affordable hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles and the hydrogen-supply infrastructure to support them. Freedom CAR also will continue support for petroleum-dependent technologies that have the potential to dramatically reduce oil consumption and environmental impacts.

Freedom CAR will require a significant investment by both the federal government and industry and will involve a concerted long-term effort. A formal partnership agreement is expected within the next few months.

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