PSA Peugeot Citroen unveils small fuel cell

PSA Peugeot Citroen has unveiled, what it claims, to be the smallest fuel cell currently available for cars and pledged further research to halve the price by 2010.
PSA Chairman Jean-Marie Folz told a news conference that the best way to save on fuel consumption of cars in the short term was by boosting the use of diesel and by adding bio-fuel to diesel.

For the medium term, hybrid diesel engines would offer further reduction in consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, while fuel cells were for a later stage, he said.

"This technology is still at its early stages but offers a real answer for the future," he said, as PSA unveiled the Genepac fuel cell -- an 80 KW power unit the size of a big suitcase that can be used in light municipal vehicles.

It can run for 500 km (310 miles), which is more than previous fuel cell projects, but still insufficient for general use.

PSA officials said that the cost and size of the fuel cells remained a problem that needed to be solved.

Its size should also be reduced. At 57 liters, Genepac is much smaller than previous versions but would still not fit in a small passenger car.

Another problem remains starting with cold temperatures.