Daimler & Toyota team up on fuel-cell technology
If anyone was taking bets, not many would've put their money on the likelihood of a Toyota and Daimler partnership, nonetheless a report in the Financial Times Deutschland suggest the two companies will join forces to fast-track fuel-cell technology development.
Daimler, owners of Mercedes-Benz and Toyota have both been working separately on numerous future-fuel technologies with hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles seen as the pinnacle in green-motoring. Hydrogen cars emit only water vapours but are currently expensive to produce given the high amounts of pricey metals required for the fuel-cells that power them.
Hydrogen vehicles will also be capable of travelling longer distances on a single "tank" than current electric vehicles.
So far Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, Ford and Toyota have all agreed to work together on fuel-cell technologies when possible. The first generation of mass-produced hydrogen powered vehicles is expected by around 2015.
Hydrogen cars are not a new idea, Daimler has already spent an estimated U.S. $1.23 billion ($1.5 billion) on hydrogen related projects since 1994 whilst Toyota has been on the case since 1992.
It seems that every day now we are covering a development which involves either electric, hybrid, or hydrogen powered vehicles. The future of motoring is sure to change in the not so distant future.
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