Cars & Gas Stations

Last week Emmy-award winning TV personality Jay Leno in Hollywood reveived the keys to a BMW Hydrogen 7 in the U.S. for a longer period of use. Leno is one of the first Americans who BMW plans to announce in the coming months that will help the company in its mission to build widespread support of hydrogen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Recently a number of entertainers, politicians, business leaders and more have opted for a BMW Hydrogen 7 as their energy-efficient ride of choice. Those who have recently chosen the vehicle include Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the "Ocean's 13" premiere in Hollywood; Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori at the FOX All-Star Party in Santa Monica; Richard Gere and Sharon Stone at the Cinema for Peace Gala in Berlin; and "An Inconvenient Truth" producer Davis Guggenheim (Oscar(R) for the best Documentary Feature) and Best Foreign Language Film Oscar(R) winner, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck at the 2007 Academy Awards; among others. While the BMW Hydrogen 7 is not for sale, it is considered to be a milestone in bringing forward hydrogen as the sustainable fuel for individual transportation.

Around the same time last week Seoul launched its first hydrogen gaseous fuel station. The station is one of only 80 such testing stations being operated around the world intended to promote the development of this alternative energy. At the station, hydrogen is produced through a catalyst reaction of naphtha and water. The product is stored in a high-pressure chamber that can be dispensed into cars. The government plans to open 50 such hydrogen filling stations across the country by 2012.

While these developments do indicate that slowly hydrogen fuelled vehicles are becoming a serious alternative to conventional fuelled vehicles, the question remains whether these projects will really help make the transition or whether they are only publicity stunts by car makers, holywood stars and governments. Probably only the future will tell.