If you had told scientists just a few decades ago that the first hydrogen powered car would be out pretty early into the 21st Century, then I very much doubt that they would have believed you. After all, the idea is that this technology uses one of our most available and copious resources to essentially produce energy, where the only emissions are the water that then goes back into producing the energy. It is cyclical, revolutionary, and quite frankly incredible. It has also happened so absurdly fast that many people haven’t even realised hydrogen fuel cell cars are available, which considering the publicity currently being given to all the less effective electric cars in the market, is quite a surprise.

The car that is available is produced by Honda, a fact that probably won’t surprise people who have observed Honda’s game over the past few years. You see, this innovative brand always appears to be ahead of the crowd – their hybrid car came out so many years ago that it doesn’t seem possible, and they are the only real competitor in the Fuel cell market. They are, quite simply, far better at working out what area is likely to take off next technologically, and where they needs to concentrate the next chunk of the research and development costs. They always make an educated guess, and they are very rarely wrong!

The FCX Clarity, Honda’s fuel cell car, is so new that you will be very unlikely to find one in a used Honda garage any time soon. However, what they haven’t seem to realise is that their hydrogen power doesn’t seem to be renewable – you will still have to fill up the tank with hydrogen rather than petrol or diesel. The end goal, I would imagine, would be to have a car that can turn the water by-product back into hydrogen and oxygen, ready to be combined again to produce energy, and so on and so forth.

Still, limitations aside, I personally feel that Honda are heading in the right direction by making this technology available in the real world. Far to many big and powerful oil companies are trying to stop hydrogen power happening, hence the emphasis instead on electric power – which, when you think about it, generally does a similar type of damage to the world. If eventually we can create something that either runs on plain water or which gets filled with hydrogen only the once, then that would save a lot of money, and would of course create a transport industry that won’t run out of those all important fossil fuels – in fact, it will be a nothing in nothing out world.

This of course is much better for the world in the long run, and whilst it may put some strain on the big powerful oil companies it is still something that needs to be thought about seriously and done for the greater, non corporate good. Sure it is thorny issue – but all the really important debates are.