The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and DaimlerChrysler AG (Stuttgart, Germany), both long-committed to fuel cell technology, announced that they will combine fuel cell technology and education. With two DaimlerChrysler F-Cell vehicles, UCLA can create awareness and interest in the zero-emission technology within the student body. DaimlerChrysler and UCLA will gain valuable feedback through providing students with daily hands-on experience of the fuel cell vehicles.
Through daily use, the F-Cells will supply DaimlerChrysler and UCLA with operational experience and technical data that will help improve the next generation of fuel cell vehicles. To help realize the partnership, UCLA has formed the Hydrogen Engineering Research Consortium, which aims at accelerating the onset of the hydrogen economy, through the development and demonstration of technologies for the production, storage, transportation, and use of hydrogen. The UCLA F-Cells are part of a 100 fuel cell vehicle fleet DaimlerChrysler has put into service around the world. The data collected through vehicle operation will contribute to the US Department of Energy Hydrogen Learning Demonstration Project.
