Mercedes to open fuel cell plant in Burnaby
CBC News Posted: Mar 17, 2011 1:44 PM PT Last Updated: Mar 17, 2011 3:52 PM PT
Mercedes-Benz has announced plans to build a hydrogen fuel cell plant in Burnaby, B.C., with the aim of developing its own line of cheaper and more efficient fuel cells for passenger vehicles.
When completed in 2012, the plant will first supply the company with fuel cell stacks for its small fleet of hydrogen powered vehicles. But Mercedes hopes to grow that fleet from about 200 to 10,000 in the next two to three years.
The company is also counting the Burnaby operation to find ways to bring down the cost of those cars to compete with hybrid, and gas powered vehicles. And by 2015, the company says it hopes to offer fuel cell cars to the public.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark was on hand for the announcement, saying the plant is a $50-million investment in the province's green economy.
"It's a day to celebrate the pioneering minds who dare to dream of cleaner, greener ways to create energy and to make fuel cell technology part of the everyday use for the cars and trucks and buses that are all around us," she said.
"Your investment in our province will contribute to a cleaner environment. It will create jobs, and those jobs will support hundreds of families," Clark told executives from Mercedes and its parent company Daimler.
No firm job numbers
But the company could not say how many people will actually work at the plant. Daimler Vice-President Herbert Kohler will only say he hopes to supply up to 10,000 vehicles two years from now.
"I am asking for understanding at the moment. It's not well decided, of course, what kind of capacity we will have in the years coming," said Kohler.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...l-burnaby.html
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