High cost of hydrogen fuel vs. the economy and simplicity of pure electric vehicles...

According to many experts, including BMW's head of R&D Burkhard Goeschel (speaking in Munich about the up-and-running hydrogen-powered dual-fuel BMW 750hl), we would have to wait till around the year 2010 before hydrogen fuel drops to current retail gasoline price-levels. So, even then, this works out at a wacking 10 - 20 times the cost of powering pure electric vehicles. Clearly, from the consumer's perpective, long-range pure electric vehicles will still be by far the most economical choice as 'Most Frequent Use Vehicles'.

What's more, by the year 2010 production battery electric vehicles could well routinely be achieving in excess of 200 miles per charge, if, crucially, EV battery development is allowed - for the first time - to be driven forward by an open and competitive global EV market. Fuel cell and advanced battery vehicles can co-exist and the technologies overlap - there surely is no justification for an "either/or", Betamax/VHS, winner-takes-all showdown. It really is a case - in more ways than one - of sorting the 'pros' from the.....'cons'.

Home Brew Fuel for fuel-cell vehicles? Until and unless affordable domestic appliances(solar-powered electrolysers, natural gas-to-hydrogen convertors - see Stuart Energy below) become available for the cost-effective production of hydrogen in compressed/liquid( at a tricky -253 C), metal hydride or other easily transportable form - ONLY long-range, advanced battery EV's - NOT fuel cell vehicles - can offer real freedom from filling-station and tax-hike dependency. The Toyota RAV4 EV, the Nissan Altra, the Solectria Force, the Ford e-Ka - despite carmakers' endless protestations to the contrary - we have no doubt whatsoever, judging not least from the enormous number of emails we receive here at EVUK, that these EV's would be flying out of UK showrooms NOW - if only web-enlightened consumers would turn up the heat and begin pressurizing/embarrassing carmakers into offering them for sale in the UK and Europe. Unfortunately they would likely have to do so without the backing of the mainstream media.