Fuel of the future far from being a reality
Hydrogen fuel-cell technology is often billed as the holy grail of future transportation -- a renewable, pollution-free fuel source that would dramatically reduce the need for imported oil.
But it will take at least a decade before vehicles that run on hydrogen become widely available, experts say.
"We always make a joke that hydrogen is the fuel of the future and it always will be," said Nick Wagoner, an alternative-fuels consultant from Central Community College in Nebraska. "There are just a lot of things they have to work out to make it a safe, economical fuel."
Even so, there's a reason hydrogen has been getting so much hype.
Fuel cells convert the chemical energy of hydrogen into electricity that can be used to power a vehicle. Instead of smog-forming exhaust, the primary byproduct of hydrogen is pure water.
The major auto manufacturers have all launched aggressive research and development efforts to come up with hydrogen vehicles that could be mass-produced and sold at competitive prices.
"The biggest obstacle . . . is the onboard storage of the fuel itself," said Peter DeLorenzo, publisher of Auto extremist.com, a popular Web site for auto industry insiders. "The onboard fuel storage tanks are extremely expensive, and they wouldn't be practical for mass production."
Another problem is the lack of infrastructure for fueling stations. Oil companies estimate it would cost $1 million per gas station to convert to hydrogen, DeLorenzo said. Chicago is in the early planning stages of a hydrogen fueling station that would be the nation's first to use ethanol as its source material, the city's Department of Environment said.