Ford Motor Company is handing over the keys to five hybrid hydrogen Ford Focus Fuel Cell vehicles today as part of a five city 30 car program to conduct real world testing of fuel cell technology. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will get three vehicles and Progress Energy will receive the other two.

The Ford Focus Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) represents Ford's commitment to advancing the use and development of alternative fuel technologies. It is one of the industry's first hybridized fuel cell vehicles combining the improved range and performance of hybrid technology with the overall benefits of a fuel cell.

Ford has been conducting fuel cell research for more than 10 years and believes fuel cell vehicles could be commercially viable by the middle of the next decade.

Knowledge gained engineering Ford's Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid has been shared between the FCV vehicle engineering team and the people working on both Ford gasoline powered hybrids on the road today as well as future gasoline hybrids Ford will sell.

"The engineers who work on the Focus FCV work hand in hand with those developing our gasoline hybrids," said Mary Ann Wright, director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Programs for Ford Motor Company. "The knowledge we gain by engineering these cars not only benefits our expertise in innovative fuel cell propulsion technology, it also will help us deliver even better gasoline hybrids in the near term."

Ford is actively engaged in the development of four promising future alternatives to today's gasoline engines, including clean diesels, gasoline- electric hybrids, hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2ICE) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCV).

The Focus FCV is the most sophisticated environmental vehicle Ford has ever developed and its success is an important milestone in Ford's long-term strategy to move toward hydrogen and alternative-fuel powered cars and trucks as viable consumer transportation options.

In addition to the FCV demonstration fleet, Ford will support Florida's hydrogen initiative with the production of eight hydrogen powered shuttle buses for use in the Orlando area and with Ford's 4.2-liter, V-6 industrial engine -- converted and calibrated to run on hydrogen -- will power two TUG M1 tow tractors for use at the Orlando International Airport.