Trends in Transportation - Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Advances in Transportation and Power - page 160

Bibendum competition in Shanghai. The competition pitted 74 hybrid,
diesel and fuel cell vehicles, measuring acceleration, fuel efficiency and
CO 2 emissions.
In 2004 the state of Maryland announced plans to lease a GM
HydroGen3 vehicle. The vehicle is used as part of the state's fleet and
represented a step in laying a foundation for a future economy driven
by hydrogen. Maryland is also pursuing the development of a hydrogen
fueling station and industrial park where all of the buildings would be
powered by hydrogen. In 2004 the U.S. Postal Service announced it would
lease a GM HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle to add to its fleet of mail delivery
vehicles in Washington, DC. The vehicle is assigned to a postal delivery
route in the Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, area.
GM and Federal Express announced a partnership where the
HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle will be used by Federal Express in the
first commercial use of a fuel cell vehicle in Japan. FedEx will use the
HydroGen3 vehicle during one year for regular delivery services in two
downtown districts of Tokyo. GM also launched a Washington-based fleet
of hydrogen-powered vehicles.
GM set a new world distance record in 2004 for fuel cell technology
with a run of HydroGen3 over 6,000 miles through 14 European countries.
This nearly doubled the previous distance record set by Daimler Chrysler
in 2002. HydroGen1 was the only fuel cell-powered vehicle to finish
Bibendum's 350-kilometer course from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. These
design innovations should be useful in future production versions but
getting them to work efficiently in a production car will not be an easy
task, although that would provide a path for practical fuel cell cars.
DaimlerChrysler has built several car and bus fuel cell prototypes, starting
with a hydrogen-powered internal-combustion minibus in 1975.
THE DAIMLER-BENZ NECAR
Daimler-Benz built the NECAR (New Car) I, a commercial van that
was its first fuel cell vehicle, in 1994. NECAR I was a prototype and most
of the cargo area was used for the fuel cell equipment. The roof held a
large hydrogen tank.
NECAR II was a smaller van built in 1996. It has seating for six and
was capable of 60 miles per hour and could travel 150 miles before the
onboard hydrogen tanks needed to be refilled. The range of 150 miles