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Vehicle Projects L.L.C. recently contracted MesoFuel Inc. to design and manufacture a hydrogen generator for a fuel cell-powered locomotive.

MesoFuel will help Vehicle Projects during a five-year, $12 million project, which is designed to prove that a fuel-cell power source — which directly converts fuel energy into electric power — can replace diesel engines in locomotives.

Vehicle Projects plans to retrofit an Army diesel-electric locomotive with a fuel-cell power plant by 2008. The project could lead to the use of fuel cells in commuter, light, high speed, freight, switching and subway utility locomotives, Vehicle Projects officials believe.

Funded and administered by U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, and National Automotive Center, the project is proceeding in four phases: feasibility and conceptual design, power plant fabrication, locomotive integration and non-tactical Army demonstration.