GM, Toyota Plan Fuel Cell Venture

The world’s two biggest carmakers are deep into plans for a joint venture to build fuel cell systems that would enable them to begin making hydrogen-powered cars.

General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. believe that by combining forces they will send a powerful signal to governments and the fuel industry that the futuristic power plants that use no gasoline or oil aren’t so farfetched, insiders say.

And California is a potential location for the venture’s research and manufacturing operations.

There is no deal yet, and it could be months before a formal agreement is hashed out, said an automotive source.

But the companies already have picked a name for the enterprise: Project Apollo.

GM is working on fuel cell development with Sacramento-based California Fuel Cell Partnership, with several Southern California companies and at its own Advanced Technology Center in Torrance.

Toyota’s U.S. sales and marketing headquarters and one of its major research and engineering units are in Torrance. Toyota also operates a small fleet of experimental fuel cell vehicles in the state.

The two automakers jointly operate a major auto assembly plant -- New United Motors Manufacturing Inc. -- in Fremont in the Bay Area.

GM has insisted for years that it will have a commercially viable fuel cell vehicle ready for the market by 2010, and insiders say the company is well ahead of schedule in several key areas. Toyota has been a major proponent of hybrid technology, which combines standard gasoline engines with electric power.

Carmakers see fuel cells as desirable because if they can be perfected, and if a retail fuel distribution system is developed, they would remove the auto industry from much of the debate over air pollution and fossil fuel consumption.

By combining resources, the two industry giants “would have a lot more clout with other decision makers and could help get government and industry more involved,” said Lindsay Brooke, an advanced automotive technology analyst at CSM Worldwide in Farmington Hills, Mich.