Ford and Daimler End Fuel Cell Cooperation

Ford seems to be giving up on plenty of things these days. First it was cars in North America, now it’s giving up on developing fuel cells with Daimler. To be fair, the new CEO is trying to control costs and he’s taking some dramatic steps to do just that.

Strange as it may sound, this move might not be driven by costs. Instead of just abandoning fuel cell development, Ford plans to work on it in-house. The same goes for Daimler. It sounds more like the two companies couldn’t agree on how to move forward with the company they created, so they’re ditching it. The joint venture company, called Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation Corp., will close by this summer. Ford claims it will keep working with Daimler on the tech, but didn’t give any specifics.

Reuters originally reported on this development. In that report, it points out the long-standing relationship between General Motors and Honda, which are working together to develop a new generation of fuel cells. Ballard Power Systems Inc. also just extended its contract with Audi to create new fuel cells. Electric car fanatics often point at Toyota, screaming how stupid it is for being the “only” automaker to “waste” money on fuel cells.

The report did highlight that Daimler might be disenchanted with fuel cells. Dr. Z, the automaker’s CEO, has said the company is pushing more for BEV developments at the moment.