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From California to Vancouver, Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles Go the Distance

At first glance there was nothing special about a dozen shiny cars parked in front of Vancouver's Convention Centre Wednesday morning; but a quick look under the hood would show these vehicles were anything but ordinary. 

The fleet of a dozen sedans and SUV's taking part in the 2009 Hydrogen Road Rally travelled the 2,700 kilometres from Chula Vista, California to Vancouver, British Columbia to showcase the future of clean transportation and to demonstrate the long range capabilities of vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Residents at 28 stops along the way had the opportunity to view and drive these vehicles as they made their way up the Highway 99/Interstate 5 corridor, also known as the ' Hydrogen Highway', a proposed network of alternative fuelling stations connecting B.C. with California. 

Powered by an electric motor and fuelled by hydrogen, these zero emissions vehicles are the newest fuel cell prototypes from seven big name Original Equipment Manufactures (OEMs): General Motors, Nissan, Honda, Daimler, Volkswagen, Kia and Toyota. 

"There are many [automotive] companies that are working on hydrogen prototypes and they are the ones that are going to be a big part, not just of the automotive future, but of our energy future," said BC premier Gordon Campbell before taking a seat inside Honda's new FCX Clarity, winner of the 2009 World Green Car award. 

But cost poses the biggest challenge to commercialization of the vehicles. Despite the environmental benefits of hydrogen fuel cars, many consumers are turned off by a price tag of close to $500,000 per vehicle."The key here is volume," said Catherine Dunwoody of the California Fuel Cell Partnership." We're at the point where the automakers are getting ready to ramp up to that higher volume - the thousands and the tens of thousands - needed to bring the cost down to the same level of conventional vehicles we drive today," she said.

By 2014 California is expected to have close to 4000 hydrogen fuel cell cars on the streets, and by 2017, added Dunwoody, that number is expected to be close to 50,000.The conclusion of the Hydrogen Road Rally marked the final day of the three-day Hydrogen + Fuel Cells 2009 international conference that took place at the convention centre earlier this week.

"I think what this says is that the cluster of companies in BC has global recognition and all our members across Canada share in that because we've created a leadership position." Tak said. "Think of it. More than 35 countries around the world all want to come here to learn about hydrogen fuel cells. I think this is a testament to the progress we've made and what we are able to achieve," Tak added.