Despite being billed by many in the car industry as the fuel of the future for many years, hydrogen remains rather limited due to a lack of supply infrastructrue, as Michael McAleer, Motoring Editor, discovered recently when taking out the BMW Hydrogen 7 test car on the Continent.
AS WE hit motorway cruising speed on a relatively empty - and unrestricted - autobahn out of Munich, we're leaving nothing more than a trail of water in our wake. Welcome to the wonderful world of hydrogen power, billed as the fuel of the future for over 20 years now.
Our water-emitting chariot is a BMW 7-Series with a revamped six-litre V12 engine that can produce 260bhp and reach speeds of 229km/h. The difference is that the car is dual fuel: running on either regular fossil-fuel petrol or liquid hydrogen. The choice of fuel is determined by a small button on the steering wheel. Click it at your leisure and the only difference is in the emissions spewing out the back. One is loaded with carbon, one of many emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, but the one most demonised as destroyer of our planet in recent years. The other is that wonderfully neutral H2O.
For those inside, there seemed only the most minor of clicking sounds as we popped back and forth from one fuel to the other. Engineers are adamant there is no difference in power output from this dual fuel engine.
So is it the guilt-free answer to luxury motoring? Yes and no. Sadly there are limitations. For a start this only the latest in a long line of experimental hydrogen models built by BMW. The first was created as early as 1984. Despite all the years of development and research, this car remains one of the most expensive we have ever driven, carrying with it a sizeable seven-figure price tag (though BMW would not confirm the actual cost).
And while we might be able to join the ranks of Madonna and her ilk who have been given the opportunity to power ahead using hydrogen, there remains no plans to put this car into production, even as a high-priced option in the new 7-Series range due for introduction later this year.
It seems we are still a long way from the promises made by the car industry at the turn of this century. Welcome to the future of the car, one powered by hydrogen. Its the fuel for 2010. That was the line used on a press release from a small car firm at the Geneva motor show back in 2002.
With 2008 nearly halfway through, the idea of a global change to hydrogen by that date seems incredibly far-fetched. Not only are the cars themselves exorbitantly expensive and far from mainstream production, but the infrastructure to support them is still in its infancy.
Yet some of the brightest brains in the car industry remain convinced that hydrogen is the fuel of the future. For them, its only a matter of time and some engine and infrastructure tweaking.
The problem is that they have been slow to enact either improved engine capabilities and infrastructure changes. The former means that even after two decades of development, BMWs latest hydrogen car still only has a range of 200km on the liquid fuel. Hydogren in this format is measured in kgs, with one of the only hydrogen filling stations in Munich - unsurprisingly located near BMWs headquarters, selling the fuel at €8 per kg.
The good news is that hydrogen may be generated from a variety of sources, not least through separation of the element from water (that H in H2O). This could be done using solar panels, thereby offering the opportunity to refuel at a series of unmanned solar-powered filling pumps that could line the motorway networks. Thats the dream. The reality seems far removed from that for now.
Then there are issues of long-term reliability. The 100 or so BMW Hydrogen 7 cars are mollycoddled by a team of engineers. The same applies with every other hydrogen-powered test car on the road. Hydrogen cars still need to demonstrate their versatility in the rough and tumble of ordinary life.
This is what the HyNor project hopes to prove. HyNor is the name given to a test organised by the Norwegian government and severa several car firms. Running north from the city of Stavenger is a 500 km stretch of road featuring several hydrogen filling stations. Locals have been provided with hydrogen fuel cell cars to drive. The idea is to test the everyday workings and limitations of hydrogen as an everyday fuel.
Finally, there remain some obvious concerns about safety. Hydrogen is highly flammable and one common worry is over a potential leak. As it does not have a smell, colour or taste, hydrogen cars are fitted with a plethora of monitors and sensors. Thankfully the fuel tanks are virtually indestructible, according to BMW engineers. There are also several valve cut-off points on the reinforced hydrogen fuel lines.
Of course BMW is not alone in pushing forward research to overcome all these issues. Several others are also offering hydrogen concept models. Mercedes hopes to have its first B Class hydrogen fuel cell vehicle on limited offering by 2010, though that seems very ambitious at this stage.
This is where several car firms are taking part in an experiment in Norway. There, a 500 km stretch of road features several hydrogen filling stations and locals have been provided with hydrogen fuel cell cars to drive. The idea is to test the everyday workings and limitations of hydrogen, particularly in northern Norway, as there are concerns that colder temperatures lead to a fall in fuel cell performance.
Honda boss Takeo Fukui, says he wants hydrogen models to be available in showrooms in Japan and the US by next year.
Yet for all the advocates who predict hydrogen will be the fuel source of tomorrow, there are many who predict its arrival on the mainstream will always be tomorrow.
Cynics point to the fact Mercedes predicted several years ago that hydrogen models would be on sale by 2004.
Many engineers working on hydrogen projects predict it will realistically be another 10 to 20 years before we see mass market demand for hydrogen-powered cars. Whatever about producing the cars, it also entails a massive infrastructural change in our fuel supply system.
In the short-term at least, the emphasis in the mainstream car market will continue to be on reducing consumption and emissions rather than replacing the entire infrastructure and power source. Hybrids and biofuels seem set to rise in popularity.
Some 128 years after Karl Benz received the patent for his internal combustion engine, it seems that for all the innovation mustered by the car industry in terms of safety, security, design and marketing, we will still be pulling up at the oil-filled fuel pumps for several years to come.