Vancouver 2009: learning about the Vancouver Fuel Cell Vehicle Program

Vancouver is hosting the Hydrogen + Fuel Cells 2009 conference this week, and that give us a chance to learn a bit more about the city's ongoing hydrogen fuel cell vehicle tests. The Vancouver Fuel Cell Vehicle Program is a seven-year program, and is testing modified H₂ Ford Focuses in real-world situations. The Focuses are Ford's third-generation hybrid electric hydrogen fuel cell test vehicles and use a 5,000 PSI hydrogen tank and have a top speed of 80 mph and a driving range of between 160 and 200 miles. The cars use a fuel cell (the Mark902) made by Ballard, a company based in British Columbia. The cars will be on the local roads until 2010.

Aside from the Focuses, Vancouver has hosted other hydrogen vehicles. Ford's HySeries Edge made its public road debut in Vancouver in 2007 and, for the LA Auto Show that year, Toyota drove its fuel cell Highlander through town. The city is not solely interested in hydrogen vehicles, though. In April, Vancouver signed up with Mitsubishi to test the viability of electric cars, specifically the iMiEV.

Our travel and lodging for this event were paid for by the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association.