The U.S. government announcement came just a day after Ballard committed to offering commercially viable fuel cell stack technology for hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010 and helped send the shares of the Vancouver-based company up about five per cent. 

Ballard shares (TSX:BLD - news) closed up 43 cents or about seven per cent at $6.29 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. 

On Thursday, Ford is expected to deliver five Ford Focus fuel cell vehicles using Ballard technology to Vancouver-area companies for real life testing in their fleets. 

The three-year test program has been established by Ford, the federal government, Fuel Cells Canada and the B.C. government. 

General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG said Wednesday they have signed agreements with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicles over the next five years. 

GM plans to build a fleet of 40 hydrogen fuel vehicles. Under the program, GM will spend $44 million to distribute the vehicles in Washington, New York, California and Michigan. The Energy Department also will provide $44 million in the deal, which is set to expire in September 2009. 

DaimlerChrysler, which has the largest fleet of fuel cell vehicles of any automaker, will invest more than $70 million in the partnership, the company said. 

"If our research program is successful, it is not unreasonable to think that we could be approaching commercialization and mass marketing of these kinds of vehicles in maybe 15 years," Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said at the National Hydrogen Association's annual conference in Washington. 

Under the agreement, DaimlerChrysler will place fuel cell vehicles with consumers who will give feedback on the vehicles' performance. The company said it already is testing 100 fuel cell vehicles in various locations around the world. 

GM, the world's largest automaker, also announced that Shell Hydrogen LLC will set up five hydrogen refuelling stations in Washington, New York, California and along the Eastern seaboard. 

The automaker said the U.S. Army at Fort Belvoir, Va., and Quantum Technologies in Lake Forest, Calif., would provide facilities for GM to store and maintain fuel cells. 

Fuel cells run on the energy produced when hydrogen and oxygen are mixed, rather than using gasoline. The only byproduct of a fuel cell is water. The technology has been used in experimental vehicles and as a power supply for some buildings. 

Ballard of Burnaby, B.C., has been working closely with several automakers, primarily Ford and DaimlerChrysler, both of which hold large stakes in the company. 

Ballard, which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the years trying to develop the zero-emission technology, released what it calls a "road map" Tuesday on when its fuel cells will be ready for wide deployment into the automotive industry. 

The company said the outline "will serve as a yardstick" for measuring Ballard's progress over the next five years. Investors have been waiting years to reap the financial rewards for their investments in the technology being offered by Ballard, which has lost $450 million US in the last three years alone.