MANTOVA, ITALY--Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF) presented three Nuvera Fuel Cell-powered Panda cars to the municipality of Mantova today as part of the Zero Regio project. Zero Regio is an integrated project aimed at developing and demonstrating zero emission road transport systems in normal daily use in Mantova, Italy, and Frankfurt, Germany. The three hydrogen Pandas were presented alongside an ENI multi-fuel refilling station, offering pressurized hydrogen at 350 bar. Following today’s event, the vehicles will serve the city of Mantova in a number of different civic applications.

“We are pleased to provide the fuel cell fleet for the Mantova portion of the Zero Regio Project,” commented Paolo Delzanno, of CRF. “The Pandas are the most progressive hydrogen cars CRF has manufactured to date – featuring Nuvera’s superior Andromeda fuel cell stack and the latest developments in fuel cell/automobile integration.”

Zero Regio, a two-phase, five-year project funded by the European Commission, launched in November, 2004, and will conclude in 2008. The demonstration phase of the project, which launched today with the presentation of the refueling station and fuel cell fleet, will be accompanied by data evaluation with respect to energy efficiency, environmental impact and socio-economic aspects. The results obtained by this project will contribute to the objective of the European Commission of replacing 5% of motor fuel in road transport by hydrogen by the year 2020.

Nuvera Fuel Cells is a global leader in the development and advancement of multi-fuel processing and fuel cell technology committed to providing clean, safe and efficient power solutions. With offices located in the U.S. and Italy, Nuvera is committed to advancing the commercialization of : hydrogen fuel cell power modules for industrial vehicles, equipment and stationary applications; on-site hydrogen generation and on-board gasoline fuel processors; and fuel cell stacks and power systems for automotive and transportation applications.