Germany commits $2 billion for at least 1,000 hydrogen stations

The hype for hydrogen as a fuel has quieted down substantially over the past two years as momentum for building out a fueling network has ground to a halt. The global economic crisis and skepticism from the Obama adminstration has pushed hydrogen infrastructure down the priority list.

Germany, on the other hand, still likes the idea of fuel cells. The German government has committed to spend $2 billion over the next decade and wants to have at least 1,000 hydrogen stations in action by 2017. Many major automakers remain convinced that fuel cells are a better long term solution than batteries for full-function vehicles. Hyundai-Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda and General Motors are all planning series production fuel cell vehicles by 2015. Among them, they have committed to delivering over 40,000 fuel cell vehicles in the southern California market by mid-decade. So, the chicken and egg battle for hydrogen continues.

[Source: Green Car Advisor]