Hydrogen-powered vehicles: A realistic path to clean energy?

By MARK GILLISPIE and TOM KRISHER
Associated Press

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, is viewed, along with electric vehicles, as one way to slow the environmentally destructive impact of the planet’s 1.2 billion vehicles, most of which burn gasoline and diesel fuel. Manufacturers of large trucks and commercial vehicles are beginning to embrace hydrogen fuel cell technologies as a way forward. So are makers of planes, trains and passenger vehicles. For now, the millions of tons of hydrogen produced globally each year are made using natural gas or coal. That process pollutes the air, warming the planet rather than saving it. Yet proponents of hydrogen-powered transportation say that in the long run, hydrogen production will become cleaner.