US car manufacturer Ford has confirmed it is to begin shipping eco-friendly models of its Focus sedans, powered by zero-emission fuel cell technology, to local governments and organisations across three US states and Canada.

According to reports in the Detroit News on Tuesday, a 30-strong crew of engineers have been working to assemble the Focus hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the east side of Detroit with a view to beginning testing in October.

The fleet of 30 Focus FCV subcompacts are to be driven in real-world situations and evaluated for a number of criteria in California, Florida, Michigan and British Columbia.

Ford will be hoping successful testing of the new model will enable it to keep abreast with rivals DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Toyota, Honda and Nissan who all are developing fuel cell vehicles.

The cars will be powered by proton exchange membrane fuel cells which include platinum catalysts.