Drive On: Ford, Daimler, Nissan developing hydrogen car

Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY | USATODAY

Three auto giants -- Ford, Daimler and Renault-Nissan -- have announced they are going to work together to develop hydrogen power as a practical way to power cars and trucks.

The announcement marks the latest show of interest in the pricklish fuel by automakers after years of showing more interest in hybrids, electrics and clean diesels.

The three say by sharing development costs and expertise, they hope to field hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as early as 2017, the Associated Press reports.

Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler has has a test fleet of hydrogen-powered crossovers in the U.S. Nissan has indicated it can now mass-produce cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

The consortium may be a reaction to progress by Asian automakers. Honda, Toyota and Hyundai say they will have fuel-cell cars ready to go on sale by 2015. Hydrogen, usually made from natural gas, is considered one of the cleanest fuels because only water comes out of tailpipes. But it's difficult to turn into a fuel partly because the tanks tend to be heavy and lacking in capacity and partly because there are few places to refuel hydrogen vehicles.

As we've previously disclosed, here is where the others stand: