The ultimate green machine

More fuel-cell vehicles are hitting the road, but it's still an uphill climb

Fuel-cell cars are the Holy Grail of green-car technology. They emit only water from the tailpipe, produce their own electricity for power, and run on hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. And as concern grows over gasoline prices and global warming, you'll be hearing a lot more about them.

Automakers have showcased more than half a dozen new fuel-cell vehicles in the past couple of years. And Honda and General Motors have put more than 250 new fuel-cell vehicles into consumers' hands for extended testing.

But while FCV development is accelerating, there are potholes in the road.

• Like other prototypes, today's hand-built FCVs can cost a million dollars or more to build. Even if mass produced, it's estimated that current models would cost $500,000 each. So reducing costs is a major goal for the government and automakers.
• Few hydrogen fueling stations exist, and it will cost billions to build an infrastructure that will make FCVs practical.
• Critics say that hydrogen is difficult to store and that producing the hydrogen makes FCVs less efficient than other types of alternative vehicles, such as electric or natural-gas-powered cars.

Auto engineers and editors at Consumer Reports have driven most of the latest fuel-cell vehicles, at our Auto Test Center or during automaker demonstrations. And we've talked with dozens of scientists and experts at car companies and at chemical companies that produce hydrogen. We think FCVs are promising. But the United States is a long way from fulfilling the vision many people have of FCVs running on hydrogen produced from renewable sources, freeing the country from the shackles of a petroleum economy. In the near term, FCVs are more likely to run on hydrogen produced from natural gas.