Because it gives Americans what they want
Last week, essentially every major automaker issued a joint Letter of Understanding regarding the development and commercialization of fuel cell vehicles. By 2015, these automakers anticipate the capability of producing hundreds of thousands of fuel cell vehicles per year.
So what? Won’t they still be far more expensive than gasoline vehicles, even pure electric vehicles?
A couple of years ago I attended an event provided by GM called Fuel Cell University. In addition to driving fuel cell vehicles, attendees were treated to the latest details regarding fuel cell technology, at least from GM’s perspective. At that time, GM claimed that if they could sell 1 million fuel cell vehicles, they could achieve cost-parity with gasoline-powered vehicles.
The hydrogen highway, or lack thereof, was the real issue GM claimed. Without a hydrogen network, such vehicles seemed pointless. Even if a hydrogen highway were paved, it seemed the US would still be foreign energy dependent.
Since then, however, the US has demonstrated that it has enough proven natural gas reserves to power the auto fleet for somewhere between 50 and 200 years. So, why not tap into these supplies? Couldn’t natural gas simply be an interim step to solar, wind and/or algae-powered hydrogen?
Certainly, there are huge obstacles to fuel cell hybrids, but they do offer a package and refueling capability already accepted, and largely demanded, by most American consumers. Does this convenience, coupled with natural gas supplies, necessitate a more robust embrace of fuel cell technology?
