Mazda, the Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), is generally overshadowed by the makers of hybrid and electric vehicles, when it comes to alternative fuel vehicles. However, the company has quietly been developing its rotary engine technology to run on hydrogen.
Much attention has been focused on hydrogen-powered fuel cells as a source of electricity to power vehicles, and Honda (NYSE: HMC) is currently leasing such a vehicle–the Clarity–to a number of customers in California.
However, Mazda’s approach is not a fuel cell. Rather, its rotary engine has been tuned to burn either gasoline or hydrogen, and prototype vehicles have a tank for both fuels. This dual fuel option would be very useful, as creating an infrastructure for refueling is seen as one of the biggest roadblocks to widespread adoption of hydrogen as a transportation fuel.
An MSNBC writer recently test-drove a Mazda Hydrogen RE vehicle and spoke with company representatives about their plans. Link to the article below.
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