It will still be a few years before environmentally conscious consumers can buy an affordable clean-air car, but zero-emission technology is already hitting the road with the help of an Alberta-designed hydrogen fuel storage tank.

Dynetek Industries has installed its lightweight fuel storage cylinders into a sedan designed by Ford Motor Company of Canada, which was rolled out onto the red carpet recently in Calgary as part of a cross-country tour sponsored by Natural Resources Canada. Accompanying the car on its tour is a special mobile hydrogen fuelling station.

“This is for real – it’s not something people are still dreaming about, it’s not a cardboard mockup or an artist’s impression,” said Dynetek COO Robb Thompson. “This is a big step towards the commercialization of the hydrogen roadmap.”

The car uses a fuel cell that converts chemical energy into electrical energy using hydrogen and oxygen, which powers the electric drive motor and allows for two to three times more fuel efficiency than a conventional internal combustion engine. Water vapour is the only emission.

Larry MacDougal, Business Edge
Dynetek CEO Heinz Portmann (left) helps Ford’s Mark Sulek ‘fuel’ prototype Focus.

“The real deal is this is less dependent on oil,” added Philip Chizek, marketing and sales manager of Ford’s Th!nk Technologies group.

Five of the Focus Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs) will be produced this year for testing and demonstration, and the Dynetek cylinders have already passed rigorous safety tests including collisions with other cars and trains. The FCV is a prototype of a new third-generation model Ford plans to build in 2004 using Ballard Power Systems’ fuel-cell technology that will carry a single 5000 PSI Dynetek cylinder, the largest on the market with a metallic liner.

The new tank stores four kilograms of hydrogen, equivalent to four gallons of gasoline.

Thompson noted that the global push for self-sufficiency and the United States’ moves to end its reliance on foreign oil is helping fuel interest in alternative energies. But the average consumer likely won’t be behind the wheel until at least 2008, he added, and only after the vehicles have been introduced and tested as fleet vehicles.

“The hurdle is the infrastructure – you don’t have the hydrogen refuelling stations on the corner today,” he said.

Dynetek president and CEO Heinz Portmann said his company’s relationship with Ford began in 1999, and both parties agree hydrogen holds the greatest promise as the fuel choice for future fuel-cell powered cars.

A study released last month by Fuel Cells Canada and PricewaterhouseCoopers called for a new partnership between government and industry to help promote the country’s fledgling fuel-cell sector.

About $150 million of government money has been invested in developing fuel-cell technology across Canada over the past 20 years. The study estimated the sector will be worth $46 billion worldwide by 2011, while the North American fuel-cell industry is expected to provide 140,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2011.

Dynetek has about 60 employees in Calgary and another dozen at its production facility in Germany.

Meanwhile, a team of engineering students at the University of Alberta has won recognition in this year’s FutureTruck competition.

The 37-member U of A team was the only Canadian entrant at the contest, which involved re-engineering a 2002 Ford Explorer SUV into a low-emissions hybrid vehicle powered by an ethanol-fuelled engine and two battery-powered electric motors.

Despite some early technical difficulties, the U of A team still managed to compete in a few events and was given the “Spirit of the Challenge” award for working to overcome obstacles, said FutureTruck spokesperson Kimberly Hippler.

The undergrad students were from the faculties of Mechanical, Electrical, Mining, and Chemical Engineering. The competition was organized by the U.S. Department of Energy and Ford, while the Canadian team was sponsored by Natural Resources Canada and Denny Andrews Ford in Edmonton. The U of A entry faced more than 300 U.S. students in competitions held in Arizona and California last month.