As part of large budget cuts the hydrogen industry US$ 1.2 billion boost proposed by former president Bush, has been partially axed by the Obama government. The reason, according to Nobel Laureate and Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, is that it’s not close enought to being marketable. The Department states that “The probability of deploying hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles in the next 10 to 20 years is low”. Check out DailyTech for more info and a very long discussion below the article (most of which can be skipped).
Now let’s consider the alternatives. Of course there is biofuel, but is this a realistic option for all cars in the world? I do not think so. And then there is batteries. But batteries also still have a long way to go in terms of size, driving range and charging (or replacement) time. Therefore in my opinion fuel cell vehicles should be developed alongside battery-driven vehicles and we will see what technology wins. So I am guessing, since I highly value the Obama government, that the real reason is another one. But what? Maybe they simply have had it with car manufacturers and are now cutting everything that has to do with them…
