General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG announced Wednesday they have signed deals with the US Department of Energy to develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicles over the next five years.

GM and the Energy Department will pay half-and-half for their 88 million-US dollar deal. The world's largest automaker will build 40 hydrogen fuel vehicles for demonstration in Washington, New York, California and Michigan.

The German-American DaimlerChrysler, which has the world's largest fleet of fuel cell vehicles, will spend more than 70 million dollars in its partnership with the Energy Department.

Under the deal, it will place fuel cell vehicles with consumers who will report on the vehicles' performance. The company said it already is testing 100 fuel cell vehicles around the world.

GM said Shell Hydrogen LLC would build five hydrogen refueling stations in Washington, New York, California and along the Eastern seaboard.

The automaker also said the US Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and Quantum Technologies in Lake Forest, California, would provide facilities for it to store and maintain fuel cells.

The fuel cell produces energy when hydrogen and oxygen are mixed, and its only byproduct is water. The environment-friendly technology has been used in experimental vehicles and in some buildings as a source of power.

The US government has planned to develop hydrogen as America's next energy source. President George W. Bush envisioned hydrogen-powered vehicles on American roads within two decades.

Hydrogen-powered vehicles are at present not marketable because of the high cost and a lack of fueling stations.

The automakers' announcements coincided with the National Hydrogen Association's annual conference in Washington.

Source: Xinhua