European automakers and energy companies have agreed on a plan for what is needed to develop an infrastructure to support hydrogen cars.
The paper published jointly by BMW, DaimlerChrysler Ford, General, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, Shell Hydrogen, Total France and Volkswagen states that Berlin should be the location where a network of hydrogen filling stations should be installed so that the companies can test their vehicles.
One would hope that the group is standardizing on a common fuel format (ie. gaseous hydrogen at a specific PSI) to simplify refueling. The group set interim goals for 2010 and 2015 with the intention that commercial vehicles begin to be available within 10 years.
Similarly West Coast states led by California and joined by Oregon, Washington and British Columbia want to establish a hydrogen highway from San Diego to Vancouver. Centralizing on a city is probably the smarter move.
These goals may seem ambitious given the limited funding relative to the current technology challenges, but it's nice to dream of a day when thousands of vehicles will be rolling without the benefit of fossil fuels. (Assuming that hydrogen from renewable resources actually happens.)
