THE DEAL: Ford, Daimler and Renault-Nissan have announced plans to collaborate on development of cars and trucks that run on hydrogen.

THE GOAL: The three global auto giants say they can share development costs and expertise, so they can get the vehicles to market faster. The companies hope to launch global hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as early as 2017.

THE BENEFITS: Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles use a chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity to power cars and trucks. The only byproducts are water vapor and heat, so there's no pollution.