Hamburg - Once hailed as the answer to fossil fuels, the future of hydrogen cars has been clouded by manufacturers shelving projects and channelling resources into electric vehicles seen as a more clean-drive alternative. The trend was highlighted recently when Ford pulled out of a joint hydrogen fuel cell project with Daimler, selling its shares in the German Nucellsys firm and announcing it will concentrate research on electric or E-vehicles and improvement of the traditional combustion engine.
A Ford spokeswoman hastened to add that hydrogen research would continue but that it was very long term and that "we need the money elsewhere."
The idea of having a countrywide network of hydrogen fuel stations in five to seven years is unrealistic, according to Ford. "Fuel cell vehicles won't have a significant market share before 2025 or 2030. It might even take longer than that," the spokeswoman said.
US Energy Secretary Steve Chu, in announcing the cutting of millions of dollars from hydrogen car projects, said that they won't likely be ready for the mass market in the next ten to 20 years. The money will be spent on electric vehicle projects instead.
Officially the big car makers such as Daimler and Honda are sticking to their hydrogen fuel cell projects. Mercedes is planning to go ahead next year with a small-scale production of a Mercedes B-Class with hydrogen fuel cell technology. Honda is currently leasing about two dozen of its Clarity FCX vehicles to selected customers in the US.
Even BMW, which appeared to be at the forefront of hydrogen car research, has lately given more attention to E-Vehicles and making current engine technology more fuel efficient.
German car part suppliers like Bosch and Continental are continuing low-key research on the hydrogen fuel cell. Bosch still has a team of about 50 engineers working in the segment, but the head of Bosch's automobile supply sector Bernd Bohr conceded that it was more of a back-up in case the expected progress in battery technology for E-vehicles does not bear fruit.
"It is quite possible that the fuel cell will come but only if there is no progress on battery technology," he says.
Hydrogen cars like the Honda Clarity FCX show that they are perfectly viable for everyday use. The problem is the transportation of hydrogen and building a network offilling stations which could take decades.
Proponents of E-vehicles argue that they are much cheaper and more ecological, especially if the electric power used is from clean energy.
Critics such as Honda however are sceptical about the advance of battery technology needed to increase range and performance. It remains committed to hydrogen research, pointing out that the FCX, using hydrogen fuel extracted from gas, is still three times more efficient on fuel than comparable petrol cars.
