(Sacramento) The California Fuel Cell Partnership today announced that fuel cell manufacturer International Fuel Cells (IFC) has joined its public-private venture to help demonstrate and commercialize fuel cell electric vehicles in California over the next four years.

The Partnership -- which formally began in 1999 -- includes auto manufacturers (DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, and Volkswagen); energy providers (BP, Amoco, Shell, and Texaco); fuel cell companies (Ballard Power Systems and now International Fuel Cells); and government agencies (the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Transportation).

"It is exciting to be at the forefront of the development of fuel cells for transportation," said William T. Miller, President, International Fuel Cells . "We look forward to working with the other members of the Partnership as we take the innovative thinking of our 650 employees and our 35 years of fuel cell experience, in a variety of applications, to move ahead to meet the new challenges of this emerging industry."

IFC (www.internationalfuelcells.com) is a division of the United Technologies Corporation (UTC) They have supplied fuel cell power systems to NASA's manned space program. IFC is involved in both automotive and bus fuel cell applications. They are supplying fuel cells using proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology to Hyundai, the Korea-based automobile manufacturer who recently joined the Partnership.

The Partnership's auto partners will deliver fuel cell-powered vehicles for testing and demonstration in California beginning this fall.

The California Fuel Cell Partnership is a voluntary effort to advance a new automobile technology that could move the world toward practical and affordable environmental solutions. The Partnership will demonstrate fuel cell-powered electric vehicles under real day-to-day driving conditions; will demonstrate the viability of an alternative fuel infrastructure technology; explore the path to commercialization; and increase public awareness of fuel cell electric vehicles. The Partnership will place more than 70 fuel cell passenger cars and fuel cell buses on the road between 2000 and 2003.