• Hydrogen cars are probably not the "wave of the future."Voiture - Nouveau concept image by ParisPhoto from Fotolia.com
  
  We hear it from car companies, engineers and politicians: "Hydrogen powered cars are the wave of the future." But for as long as we've been hearing this, hydrogen fuel cell technology doesn't seem to be getting any closer to appearing on the market. There are several reasons why hydrogen powered cars may never hit the scene in any sort of substantial numbers.
  
  

Fuel Storage

• One reason that hydrogen fuel cell technology hasn't gotten off the ground is because it is difficult to store in the quantities that most people expect from a car's fuel capacity. Generally cars contain enough fuel for the car to travel 300 to 400 miles before needing to refuel. In order to store that much hydrogen, the fuel tank would have to be incredibly heavy to prevent it from exploding in the case of a collision. The added weight would lead to a decrease in fuel mileage, making it a Catch-22 scenario in which adding more fuel capacity leads to less fuel efficiency.
  
  

Production Cost

• Car manufacturers see the expense of hydrogen car production and the perceived lack of demand as deterrents for creating mass-produced hydrogen powered vehicles. Because the materials needed to manufacture hydrogen powered cars aren't readily available and the technology is expensive in and of itself, manufacturers would have to charge high prices for the vehicles, which would drive them out of the range of the average buyer.
  
  

Maintenance

• Because the technology is specialized, hydrogen powered cars would be expensive to maintain. Experts would have to do all vital repairs, and replacement parts would be expensive.
  
  

Fuel Availability

• Hydrogen fuel is difficult to obtain because of a lack of infrastructure and the expense of production. In order to induce manufacturers to create hydrogen powered cars, hydrogen fuel stations would have be common and widespread enough for car owners to have local access to fuel.
  
  

Competition with Electric/Hybrid Vehicles

• Hybrid and electric cars are currently in production and enjoy a level of demand in the market for alternative fueled cars. Because an infrastructure already exists for electricity and the technology is cheaper and easier to develop, hydrogen powered cars would have to overcome the hold that hybrid and electric cars enjoy.