From Today's Moderator

An article by Andrew English on the future of hydrogen fuel-cell electric cars appeared in the Telegraph yesterday.

In January, the Government unveiled its latest hydrogen initiative which, according to Mark Prisk, the business minister, will “ensure the UK is well positioned for the commercial roll out of hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles.”

The 2007 Department of Energy white paper, Meeting the Energy Challenge, concluded that “fuel cells and hydrogen technologies face significant technical and economic challenges… A huge international effort (both public and private) is being devoted to overcoming them. This will require fundamental and applied research, development and demonstration.”

In 2008, Professor Peter P Edwards wrote in the government-commissioned study, Hydrogen and fuel cells: towards a sustainable energy future: “together, hydrogen and fuel cells have the capability of producing a green revolution in transportation by removing CO² emissions completely.”

Will it really? Three government departments (Business, Innovation and Skills, Transport and Energy and Climate Change) are involved, but have any of them ever read any of their own publications?