The Ford Ecostar is an experimental electrically powered small delivery van that was built by the VCC110 Program Team in Dearborn, Michigan.

A sodium-sulfur battery in the floor of the cargo area stored power for a 75 horsepower (56 kW) electric motor under the front hood.

These corroded connections increased the resistance and the resulting heat was sufficient to melt the surrounding cells and cause a chain reaction.

The program team was able to introduce a workaround that permitted the trials to conclude, but future Ford electric vehicles over the next five years would have to rely upon the older lead acid battery.

[6] In late 1997, Ford announced a partnership with Daimler-Benz and Ballard Power Systems to introduce car-ready fuel cells,[9] and their experiments with the sodium-sulfur batteries ended.

The Ecostar's chassis was based on the Escort Van produced by Ford's Halewood Body & Assembly factory outside Liverpool.

[3] The sodium-sulfur technology was invented by Ford in the 1960s,[10] but the battery for the Ecostar was built by ABB Group in Heidelberg, Germany.

[5] The battery container was mounted below the floor pan of the cargo area, which gave the vehicle a low center of gravity that give it well-liked handling.

[11] The battery supplied power to a three-phase alternating current electric traction motor located under the hood in the area normally used for the gasoline engine.

The motor delivered only 75 hp (56 kW), low for a vehicle of this size, but up to 143 lb⋅ft (194 N⋅m) of torque, typical of a much more powerful gasoline engine.