BMW Launches Hydrogen Powered 7 series

In reality, said Tuso, "The only real problem is the pressure that's involved, and that's not a problem with proper tanking systems." He showed us pictures of cars that had been dropped from 45', then from 90', and in all these test cases the hydrogen tank did not explode, in spite of being under pressure. Moreover, he said, "the tanks are designed to blow up, not out. If, for example, that tank back there exploded," said Tuso, referring to the hydrogen station in the lot behind the building, "90% of the debris would fall within the fence around it."

The danger from accidental hydrogen fires was even less of a problem, according to Tuso, because "Hydrogen is a very clean fuel, it would ignite easier than gasoline, but the likelihood of it igniting is still slim. If it did ignite, the flame doesn't put out much heat. Gasoline fires usually consume the whole car." He cited tests where hydrogen gas tanks were exploded and ignited, and invariably the flame went upwards and didn't burn very hot. The back windows, for example, would not typically be damaged in a hydrogen tank fire, whereas in a gasoline tank fire, the back windows usually melt.

Notwithstanding the cost of building an entire fuel infrastructure for hydrogen, the biggest problem hydrogen fuel has may end up being a public perception that it is too dangerous to handle. "People here think of the Hindenberg and Hydrogen bombs," said Tuso, "Some people think we have a hydrogen bomb back here."

We left that day not sure whether or not we'd found the car of the future. Hydrogen fuel cell powered cars will be part of the market, but they probably won't sit in everyone's garages, owning the car market the way gasoline powered cars do today. Hybrids have better range and overall performance, and they're already cheap to manufacture. Expect to see more of them in the near future. What will emerge in the long run is anybody's guess. Outside the U.S., cleaner burning cars using conventional fuels such as diesel and gasoline will probably stay on top of the market. How clean can they get? How clean is clean enough? Stay tuned.