Shell to Supply Technology for Daimler's 'Green' Car Fuel Cell
Bloomberg News
August 17, 1998, 4:23 a.m. PT
Shell to Supply Technology for Daimler's 'Green' Car Fuel Cell
London, Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Royal Dutch/Shell Group,
the world's biggest publicly traded oil company, said it agreed
to supply fuel cell technology to a group of carmakers, led by
Daimler-Benz AG, designing environmentally friendly cars.
The technology converts liquid fuel into a hydrogen-rich
gas. Germany's Daimler-Benz, Ford Motor Co. of the U.S. and
Ballard Power Systems Inc. of Canada convert the gas to
electricity in fuel cells they are developing to power a new
generation of ''green'' cars.
The agreement will advance the car companies' efforts to
unveil a new fuel cell-powered car by 2004 to help cut emissions
of fossil fuels that are damaging the Earth's atmosphere.
The agreement reflected a ''common goal of more
environmentally friendly motoring'' being pursued both by the
car companies and Shell, said Graeme Sweeney, head of fuels
development at Shell, in a statement.
For Shell, the agreement reflects an increasing emphasis
on investing in environmentally friendly energy technologies. By
2050, Shell executives expect half the world's energy could come
from renewable energy forms such as solar and wind power.
Last year it said it would spend $500 million during the
next five years to develop renewable energy. Shell didn't
disclose financial terms of today's agreement.
Daimler, Ford and Ballard's fuel cell technology is one of
the most promising now being developed to make environmentally
friendly autos.
The group has fitted prototype fuel cells in A-class
Mercedes cars and buses. The aim is to develop a car for
consumers by 2004, something industry experts have said is
possible given today's technology. Oil companies are just
beginning to wake up to the implications fuel cells may have on
demand for oil and its byproducts like gasoline and diesel fuel.
Shell's statement today said the fuel cell can provide
vehicles with ''at least the same performance as traditional''
autos. Cars running on hydrogen don't produce the pollutants
such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, which scientists say
cause a warming of the Earth's climate. Exhaust from the fuel
cell is water.
The Shell technology involved is its proprietary Catalytic
Partial Oxidation, which can convert liquid fuels into a
hydrogen-rich gas consumed by the fuel cells.
Shell said the result ''could be a car which has the
environmental advantages of fuel cell power plus the convenience
of filling up at an existing petrol station.''
--Reed V. Landberg in the London newsroom (44) 171 330-
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