GLOBE-Net (June 3, 2009) - 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. 

"We're working with the governors of Washington, Oregon, and California to make sure that the Hydrogen Highway runs all the way down the West Coast" said Campbell. "British Columbia will open the first leg of the Hydrogen Highway in time for the Olympics and we will work in partnership with the Pacific Coast states to establish hydrogen fuelling stations that will allow vehicles to travel from B.C. to Baja, California." 

B.C. now has two hydrogen stations in operation, one in Vancouver and one in Surrey. This number  will eventually expand to include eight stations in the province along the "Hydrogen Highway" running from Whistler to the U.S. border. 

Premier Gordon Campbell said the challenge for B.C.'s hydrogen economy is to bring the province's hydrogen know-how to the marketplace. "Part of this is not finding the technology. It is commercializing the technology," said the Premier. 

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 told GLOBE Net. 

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. 

Companies such Daimler have suggested they are ready to go into mass production this year and Ford already has a fleet of five Fusions roaming the streets of the Lower Main Land, refuelling at a hydrogen station located at the University of British Columbia. 

However, without an extensive infrastructure of fuelling stations and the mass hydrogen production necessary for commercial production, it could be some time before there is another addition to this fleet of five Ford Fusions. 

"Give me the vehicles and I'll give you the fuel infrastructure," said Mossadiq Umedaly, Chairman of BC Hydro and Executive Chair of B.C. Hydro's clean-energy subsidiary Powertech Labs Inc., the company that provided the hydrogen fuel for the rally. "It has to move up in tandem." 

"The money for the necessary infrastructure will have to come from private sector," said Umedaly. "We've seen the premier of the province really encouraging this and supporting it and putting some start up money into it, but we cannot build the infrastructure. It has to come from private sector. And it will come when the market is ready," he told GLOBE-Net. 

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 center earlier this week.  

"The conference was a tremendous success," said John Tak, President and CEO of the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA). "We were worried about holding the event in the middle of a recession but we had close to 1000 delegates this year, which is up from 700 two years ago." he said.  

"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 told GLOBE Net. "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 said.

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