US car manufacturer General Motors has accorded its support to the European Commission's Lighthouse scheme which aims to boost the research and development of hydrogen fuel cells and the development of a hydrogen-based global economy.

The European-wide project, which has been in planning for over a decade, aims to acts as a catalyst for the development of fuel cell technology to the point of commercial viability, according to Fuel Cell Works.

It will also seek to create the necessary infrastructure for the production, supply and distribution of hydrogen across the continent.

According to already established EU targets, hydrogen-driven cars are set for mass production for common use on Europe's roads by 2010.

GM currently has around 600 specialists across its centres in the US, Japan and Germany working on the development of fuel cells and the implementation of its series production.

Meanwhile GM has also secured a deal with the US state of Maryland to lease and test a fuel-cell powered minivan.

To compliment the lease deal, the financial terms of which have not been disclosed, the state is understood to be forming and seeking to implement plans for a hydrogen refuelling station in the region.

According to Governor of Maryland Robert Ehrlich, state officials are also to approach locally based universities and business about the prospect of building an industrial park in which all the buildings would be powered by hydrogen.

Maryland's moves to embrace the benefits of fuel cell technology reflect a growing interest in the burgeoning alternative fuel sector within the United States, which saw the US Postal Service recently sign a two-year lease deal for a number of fuel cell powered additions to its fleet operating in the Washington area.

Several types of fuel cell produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen over a platinum catalyst.