Ford Shows Hydrogen Project.

The stainless steel fuel lines that feed a certain dyno cell at Ford's Dearborn, Mich., scientific labs are the giveaway that the engine running here is special. At first glance, it looks like a plain 2.0L Zetec four. But those fuel lines are stainless steel because the liquified hydrogen gas

This engine is called HICE (hydrogen internal combustion engine), and it's been humming along as a Ford secret project since last December, when the dyno testing began. Its purpose is to try to create a virtually zero-emission vehicle based on a typical piston engine. Such a vehicle could be built at roughly equivalent cost to a gasoline-fueled ICE, claim Ford officials. And it could also be built in respectable volume, serving the automaker until its cleaner hydrogen-powered fuel cell is ready.

So far, the testing is encouraging. "The hydrocarbon and CO emissions we're observing are near zero," beams Brad Bates, Ford's manager of alternative power sources, "and the NOx levels are down in the weeds - at least at federal Tier 2 and maybe at SULEV (super-low emissions) levels as tested with a catalyst."

Ford plans to install HICE in a vehicle for testing later this year, Bates says. The ultra lean-burn engine has 15:1 compression ratio, two injectors per cylinder and operates at low peak cylinder pressure.

A few issues concern Bates about HICE. First, hydrogen leak detection is critical in any vehicle using the fuel. Also, burning hydrogen has no visible flame, but Bates says that can be addressed with heat sensors or a fuel additive that creates a visible flame. And the vehicle must carry a super-insulated fuel tank to store the liquified gas efficiently.

Bates admits that Ford is behind BMW, which he reckons has invested the most of any automaker into HICE development. The German automaker will produce its first HICE pilots in 2001, and promises to have 1,500 HICE cars on the street by 2002.