The European Commission has for the first time adopted proposals to encourage the development as well as marketing of clean and safe hydrogen cars. Brussels however acknowledged that the technology may have little impact in the next 10 years.
One of the proposals is to set up the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative. The commission has called for 470 million (us $665 million) from the eu's joint budget to fund research over the next six years. The initiative is expected to accelerate the technology for commercial take-off by between 2010 and 2020. The commission has also suggested standardization of rules for hydrogen car manufacturers so that production becomes cheap. The proposals now require the approval of the European Parliament and eu member states. "Hydrogen vehicles have the potential to reduce Europe's dependency on fossil fuels," said the commission.
The commission's vice-president, Gunter Verheugen, said he was "not convinced that the hydrogen car will be the car of the future". One needs to ensure that hydrogen production doesn't lead to an increase in co2 emissions.
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