The deal will reduce Ballard's annual cash consumption by about $25 million US. Ballard will also be reimbursed for net operating expenses incurred between Aug. 1, 2004 and the closing date of the deal, estimated to be worth more than $20 million US.

Under the deal, DaimlerChrysler and Ford will return to Ballard nine million common shares of the Vancouver company in exchange for Ballard's 50.1 per cent interest in Ballard Power Systems AG, a developer of fuel cell support systems.

Earlier this year, Ballard committed to offering commercially viable fuel cell technology for hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010.

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" on when its fuel cells will be ready for wide deployment into the automotive industry.

It dubbed the road map - which sets targets for how much the technology will cost and how it will perform - as "a course to the post-oil hydrogen future."

Ballard said a 2010 demonstration will show that its technology has the following characteristics: 5,000 hours of lifetime; an ability to start at -30 degrees C; volumetric power density of 2,500 watts net per litre; and a cost of $30 US per net kilowatt at a volume of 500,000 units.

Ballard shares (TSX:BLD) traded at $5.30, down five cents, at the Toronto Stock Exchange.