Daihatsu Motor

The performance of DHFC was far superior with an AEM than with a CEM. Daihatsu Motor continued this research in cooperation with AIST and developed a DHFC with a cell performance comparable with that of pure hydrogen PEMFC without the use of precious metals, as shown in Fig. 6.8 [8]. The toxicity of hydrazine is one problem with a DHFC. Hydrazine may have mutagenic effects. To improve the safety of DHFC system, Daihatsu Motor developed a hydrazine-fixing material based on the reaction of hydrazine with carbonyl or amide groups in a polymer. Hydrazine is adsorbed in the polymer as a harmless hydrazone and released as hydrazine as required. 

A number of the major automakers have stated their intention to begin selling - or expanding sales of - fuel cell passenger vehicles. Toyota plans to offer about 20 hybrid fuel cell SUVs based on its Highlander platform. Nissan has announced plans to start selling a fuel cell vehicle, and Ford Motor Company said it would offer a fuel cell version of the Focus in low-volume production for small fleet operations. Other FCVs include the CM Opel HydroCen 3, the Hyundai Santa Fe FCEV, and the Nissan Xterra FCV, the DaimlerChrysler Necar 5, and Daihatsu s Move FCV-K-2. 

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