ORLANDO , Florida ( CNN ) -- Some Florida amusement park visitors may enjoy space-themed roller-coasters , but the first vehicle they board at Orlando International Airport may be the most futuristic ride of their vacation . Four hydrogen shuttle buses are part of the fleet at the Orlando International Airport . The airport is testing four Ford shuttle vans equipped with internal combustion engines modified to run on hydrogen instead of gasoline . `` It 's quiet , it does n't shake like diesel , it does n't have that diesel smell , '' said Rafael Sanchez , who has been driving the vans for a year . The quieter engine makes conversation inside the bus easier than in conventional vehicles . `` Hydrogen is one of the many technologies we are exploring , trying to become more of a green airport , '' said Ronald Lewis , director of airport operations . Vehicles powered with hydrogen engines are different from the many vehicles across the nation that run with the help of hydrogen fuel cells -- which are the gold standard of green machines . The use of hydrogen in internal combustion engines is far less efficient than in the fuel cells . The modified engines aboard the Ford E-450 shuttle buses are 6.8 liter V-10s . The airport 's fleet also includes three gas-electric hybrid vehicles and 24 biodiesel buses . The facility also powers its maintenance equipment -- such as lawnmowers and tractors -- with biodiesel . But like many experiments with alternative fuels , the price is very high and the long-term outcome is unknown . Proponents of hydrogen technology have long had a chicken-and-egg dilemma over whether to build million-dollar fueling facilities or to wait until more vehicles are in use . Energy companies are reluctant to pour money into expensive fueling stations without a lot of hydrogen vehicles around , but consumers are not likely to buy a vehicle without adequate places to fill up . `` It is clear nothing is going to displace gasoline or diesel for 20 , 30 , maybe 40 years , '' said John Lapetz , who has been working on alternative fuels at Ford for more than 20 years . The Orlando project has several goals : To get average consumers acquainted with hydrogen and to acquire data on the buses ' performance in a setting where they are in use almost nonstop . Lapetz said it 's an effort to use a technology that customers take for granted ( the internal combustion engine ) , while preparing for the day when drivers can complete the divorce from fossil fuels . At the Boggy Creek Hydrogen Fueling Station in Orlando , the hydrogen is produced on-site . `` We are doing a process called steam methane re-forming , which is natural gas to hydrogen , '' said Puneet Verma , manager of biofuels and hydrogen at Chevron Technology Ventures , one of the players involved in the project . During a careful fueling process , technicians check for leaks of the highly flammable hydrogen -- leaks both in the bus and the fuel pump . Because a fossil fuel , methane , is used to make the hydrogen , the buses are about 12 percent cleaner than gasoline or diesel when their entire carbon footprint is measured . `` We view the hydrogen efforts as a technical success , '' said Verma . `` This is the first time we have been able to demonstrate actual production of hydrogen at the station . It 's not necessarily an economic success yet . '' `` The ultimate goal is hydrogen fuel cell cars , '' Verma said . `` The hydrogen internal combustion engine buses are much less expensive to manufacture , but they consume a lot more hydrogen . '' Verma said the buses are `` valid transition technology '' aimed at quickly building significant demand for hydrogen , which would then justify an expensive infrastructure . The hydrogen test project also includes the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority , Ford Motor Company , the Florida Department of Environmental Protection , Progress Energy and SeaWorld . Hydrogen buses began shuttling SeaWorld employees in February from the park 's outer parking lots to their workplaces . `` The environment is really an important part of SeaWorld 's culture here , '' said Kelly Bernish , director of environmental health and safety at Busch theme parks SeaWorld , Discovery Cove and Aquatica . Bernish described the venture as another opportunity for `` employees to feel like they can impact the environment by using this kind of vehicle , that will lessen our footprint on the world . '' SeaWorld 's Discovery Cove animal training supervisor Jay Tacey said `` somebody has to get the ball rolling . Until somebody takes that first step , there 's always going to be the 'what if ? ' `` Airport Operations Director Lewis said being in on the hydrogen experiment early could pay off in the long run . `` We are hopeful that since they built the facility here , the only one in the southeast United States , that there will be a long-term usage for it . ''
Orlando airport tests cleaner hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines . Smoother , quieter engines require million-dollar fueling stations . Testers hope to learn more by gathering data from nonstop shuttle usage . Comment: