A team of 15 automotive engineers is more than halfway to a goal of driving an electric-powered fuel-cell vehicle across the country for the first time, according to USA Today. It's a daring attempt on public roads to prove the technology's endurance. The team, from DaimlerChrysler and Ballard Power Systems, left Sacramento on May 20 in a Mercedes-Benz A-Class car. They were in Chicago, about 2,000 miles from the start, on May 28 and hope to arrive in Washington on June 3. If the team finishes the 3,000 miles, DaimlerChrysler says the car will set a distance record for a single fuel-cell system. Ford Motor said it set an endurance record in October when it ran its P2000 fuel-cell sedan 1,390.8 miles in 24 hours on a test track. Most automakers are working on fuel-cell technology as an alternative to conventional gasoline power. Fuel cells convert some form of fuel — methanol, gasoline or natural gas — into hydrogen, which is then combined with oxygen to produce electricity to power the vehicle without gasoline's pollution.