The UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies took delivery Monday from Toyota Motor Sales USA of the first market-ready fuel-cell vehicle in the United States.

The UC Davis research institute will use this car, and more to arrive soon, to conduct the first public evaluation of American consumer reactions to the new automotive technology.

For the past five years, Toyota has provided more than $2 million in research grants to the University of California for advanced fuel-cell development study. In the new program, UC Davis and UC Irvine will share six Toyota fuel-cell vehicles and grants from Toyota of more than $4 million over the next 3.5 years.

Cars powered by fuel cells have zero tailpipe emissions and greatly reduce greenhouse gases compared with existing internal-combustion engines using gasoline or diesel. They are considerably cleaner and more energy-efficient than the new gasoline-electric hybrid cars now on the market and provide the potential to move toward renewable domestic energy sources.

Toyota has asked the University of California to help the automaker establish a fuel-cell-vehicle "community" in the state. The community would link academic researchers, consumers, manufacturers and public agencies.

The Institute of Transportation Studies will use its fuel-cell Toyotas to study:

• Consumer awareness and knowledge of, and attitudes toward, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles;
• The use of hydrogen fueling infrastructure;
• The full "lifecycle cost" of FCVs;

•Other aspects of FCVs and hydrogen use that will point the way for the advent of this new class of ultra-clean vehicles.

Ken Kurani, ITS-Davis director of fuel-cell market research, will lead efforts to identify the most promising early markets for fuel-cell vehicles; lead outreach efforts to educate communities about hydrogen and fuel-cell vehicles, and recommend designs for consumer-friendly hydrogen refueling stations.

The consumer, market and demonstration program elements will be designed by Ken Kurani and researcher Tom Turrentine. Marshall Miller, who directs the ITS-Davis hydrogen-CNG bus research program, will oversee the hydrogen- fueling infrastructure issues.

• new hydrogen fueling station - one of only a handful on the West Coast - is now being constructed at UC Davis for its existing studies of fuel-cell buses. With the Toyota partnership, ITS-Davis will enhance that station to accommodate passenger-vehicle refueling as well.