Will
fuel cell hybrid vehicles ever be cost-effectively
mass-produced?
Wednesday,
October 17, 2007
Will
fuel cell vehicles ever be a reality?
I know a few environmentalists whom both love hybrid
cars and think fuel cell vehicles are a stupid idea.
Can you blame them? To some extent, fuel cell vehicles
have driven America into greater and greater foreign oil
dependency as fuel cell R&D was used to justify
denying CAFE increases. Yet, after decades of promises, it
appears mass-produced, cost-effective fuel cell vehicles
might still be decades away.
Yet, vehicles such as the Toyota
Prius hybrid car, were spawned from fuel cell
vehicles. In fact, Toyota continues to develop their
hybrid cars and fuel cell cars on the same powertrain.
Ultimately, fuel cell cars will be fuel cell hybrid
cars - if they ever happen.
Perhaps electric vehicles will make more sense, or plug-in
hybrid vehicles. Or, rather than hydrogen-powered fuel
cell hybrids, maybe fuel cells will be used simply to
assist plug-in hybrids by extending their range.
Will fuel cell vehicles ever be a reality? How long
will it be before this reality? Or, are fuel cell vehicles
forever a myth?
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