Environmental Concerns Converge on Technology Progress

International concerns about the release of greenhouse gas emissions, deteriorating air quality, and reliance on oil sources in the Middle East oil continue to place pressure on the automobile industry to develop cleaner and more efficient vehicles. In practice there are three main ways this can be achieved: vehicle weight reduction, deployment of more efficient propulsion systems, and cleaner fuels. Fuel cell technology, by virtue of its unique means of operation, is well placed to address the power train limitations of both conventional internal combustion (IC), engines (i.e., nonzero emissions and relatively low efficiency) and batteries (i.e., inadequate range and long "recharging" time).

Many of the world's major automakers, prompted by both this consumer demand and progress in reducing the inherent cost and size of fuel cells, are now committed to developing and commercializing fuel cell...