US performs hydrogen funding U-turn

The US Senate has overturned attempts by President Obama's administration to cut funding for hydrogen research by voting to commit nearly $200m (£121m) to hydrogen car development.

Energy secretary Steven Chu had asked that no financing be allocated for hydrogen cars in his 2010-2011 Energy Department budget request on the grounds that fuel cell-based electric vehicles would not be commercially viable for another couple of decades. He instead recommended that funding be targeted on renewable energy, electric cars and other technologies that are closer to mainstream deployment.

But Congress added the $187m appropriation before passing the budget last week, a move that has subsequently been approved by the Senate. The bill is now awaiting the signature of President Obama, who has said that he would like to see a million plug-in electric vehicles on the streets by 2012.

Back in May, Chu, who is an Obama appointment, attempted to reduce the funding allocated to hydrogen and fuel cell development, saying at the time: " Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen car economy? The answer, we felt, was no."

Although he has been more conciliatory towards the nascent industry since then, Chu recently said that to succeed, fuel cells would need to benefit from four miracles – one more than is required to attain sainthood in the eyes of the Catholic Church.

Former President George W Bush advocated the development of hydrogen car technology in 2003, but critics claim that the development of a so-called " hydrogen economy" remains a distant dream. There are reportedly about 190 projects around the US that focus on developing hydrogen fuel technology, but as few as 200 of such cars are in use.

Although automotive manufacturers claim hydrogen-based vehicles are almost ready for commercialisation, a major problem at the moment is the lack of fuelling stations. It has been estimated that the US government may need to fork out as much as $55bn in additional funding to pay for research and subsidies to ensure that such stations are built.