>But, practical application for automotive use is elusive. Here in BC we are world leaders in the technology. However, Ballard and various partners have gone through a huge amount of investment with little to show for it. The main problems for automotive use are on-board storage of hydrogen fuel - current state-of-the-art is 450 to 700 bar pressurized tank storage (that's 7,000 to 10,000 psi - serious business), refueling infrastructure for that kind of pressure, and making fuel cells robust and cheap enough for auto use.
For comparison, my car's gas (1) tank gets filled up regularly to 200 bar. Many cars in Cochabamba use gas nowadays.
(1) Note that that is gas, not gasolene!
Difference in opinions hath cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether whistling be a vice or a virtue; whether it be better to kiss a post, or throw it into the fire... (from Gulliver's Travels)
