Ford Fuel Cell Partnership Praised by Methanol Industry

15 December 1997

    ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 15 -- The American Methanol Industry
(AMI) offered its praise for today's announcement that the Ford Motor Company
has entered into a partnership with Ballard Power Systems of Canada
and Daimler-Benz of Germany to produce fuel cell vehicles.
    "For more than a decade, Ford has been a key ally of the methanol industry
with the production of flexible fuel vehicles that run on methanol fuel," said
AMI Chairman W. Mark Rosenbury of Terra Industries.  "We stand ready to work
with this strong partnership to ensure that methanol remains the hydrogen
carrier of choice for fuel cell vehicles."
    The alliance has targeted commercial production of fuel cell vehicles by
2004.  Previously, Daimler-Benz announced production plans for methanol fuel
cell vehicles that include an on-board reformer or "chemical plant" to produce
hydrogen gas from liquid methanol.  Many expect that the methanol fuel cell
will power the next generation of fuel cell vehicles.
    Methanol is a clean transportation fuel made from domestic natural gas.
One-quarter of the world's supply of methanol is produced at 18 U.S. plants in
eight states with a total capacity of over 2.5 billion gallons per year.
    Attending the 14th International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS 14) in
Orlando, Florida, AMI Senior Consultant for Market Development Raymond Lewis
stated that:  "Liquid methanol packs a lot of hydrogen at ambient temperature
and pressure, while pure cryogenic hydrogen must be held at minus 423 degrees.
With the ease and convenience of a liquid fuel and the ability to use the
existing gasoline distribution infrastructure, methanol is an ideal hydrogen
carrier."
    The existing gasoline infrastructure can be modified to supply methanol,
at a cost of about $30,000 per station to convert underground storage tanks
and fuel pumps to methanol operation.  The cost to make methanol available
conveniently at one-in-ten gasoline stations nationwide is only about
$600 million.  It has been estimated that creating a hydrogen infrastructure
to serve fuel cell vehicles could cost as much as $1 trillion.
    The American Methanol Institute (AMI) serves as the voice of the methanol
industry in Washington and across the country.  AMI works to support the use
of clean reformulated and oxygenated gasolines, promote the use of methanol as
an alternative fuel, and encourage the development of emerging methanol-
powered fuel cells.

SOURCE  American Methanol Institute