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If the key setback with corn or sugarcane is simply getting enough to satisfy demand, that is a problem hydrogen, being the most common element in the known universe, does not share. The key problem with hydrogen is that it needs to be unlocked.
Hydrogen does not exist in a free state. It can be derived from natural gas, fossil fuels, or, with electricity, from water. Because there is no hydrogen-distribution infrastructure  on a large scale, there is still debate on whether to unlock the gas and send it to the point of distribution -- a filling station -- or, alternatively, to ship it in an easier-to-handle locked state, such as water, and unlock it at the point of sale or even in the car.
As with corn, using fossil fuels to unlock the hydrogen seems like one step forward and one backward. Using electricity derived from clean-generating plants is a way around this, and it's a refrain sung by both UCS and GM. "The best way to generate hydrogen is from a renewable source," Barthmuss says, citing chlorine, solar energy, wind, and biomass as possibilities.
Hydrogen has no polluting byproducts when used in a fuel cell. A hydrogen fuel cell can be refilled in minutes, instead of the long charging time of traditional batteries.
GM notes that its hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are being tested in some areas. The U.S. Postal Service uses some of these cars, for instance, and the Marines are testing a hydrogen-powered Silverado pickup at Camp Pendleton, California.
Electricity by Other Means
But hydrogen fuel cells are not the only electrical solution.
Mike Hudema, who bears the unique title of Independence from Oil Director for Global Exchange, an environmental group based in San Francisco, says that his organization's real passion is for electrical cars with backup fuel components.
"We're definitely excited about plug-in hybrids," Hudema says. A plug-in hybrid is primarily an electrical car, usually powered from a grid through an outlet, with a fuel backup. Present-day hybrid cars use the gasoline-powered engine to charge the battery. A plug-in hybrid can recharge its batteries overnight when connected to an outlet. (continued...)
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