25 Mar 2007

Is 2025 the Year for Fuel Cell Cars?

Is 2025 the Year for Fuel Cell Cars?

Honda_fcx_concept Reuters -- Hydrogen is being touted as an environmentally friendly fuel of the future, but the road to hydrogen-powered vehicles will not be easy, industry experts said at the National Hydrogen Association (NHA) Annual Hydrogen Conference this week.

BMW, Toyota, Honda, GM, DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen had hydrogen-powered vehicles on display at the conference, some costing up to a million dollars a piece and having limited range on a hydrogen fill-up.

Topics raised include the cost of the cars themselves, the cars' limited ranges, hydrogen storage and difficulties of establishing hydrogen refuelling stations.

BMW vice president of clean technology Frank Ochmann predicted that fuel cell-powered cars would be commonly sold and produced by 2025.

He also revealed that the German manufacturer was working on an insulated tank to keep hydrogen in its liquid state. He claimed: "If you put in this tank a snowman, it would take about thirteen years to melt down ."