Is there a conspiracy concerning Fuel cell cars?

President Bush was fascinated with those cars, and there was money from the Fed to help make them cheaper to develop. When President Obama took office, one of the first things he did was about kill the program. http://www.treehugger.com/cars/obama-kills-hydroge...

Conspiracy? I am not sure. But I have a great idea that will never be used in our life times. Wind turbines can make power, we know. Using the wind turbines to separate the H out of H2o would mean free hydrogen production while we benefit from the turbines spinning making power we can use right now. (You can't store wind power yet). Any way, there you go.

If you have ever watched cartoons you might see a character jump from a high place and use an umbrella like a parachute. But what looks so simple is rarely so easy when you take a look at the details. Just because a technology is available does not mean that it is practical or economical.

There are 4 major reasons why hydrogen fuel cell electric cars have been repeatedly promised ... only 10 years off ... for the last 45 years:

-- The materials and procedures are expensive. Presently fuel cell electric cars can cost over $100,000 with some reports as high as $1,000,000 each.

-- We would have to build an entirely new infrastructure to supply hydrogen to lots of vehicles. There are other alternatives that are cheaper and more efficient.

-- No matter how you work the production, storage and transportation of hydrogen it is cheaper and more efficient to make electricity that can then power a battery electric car more efficiently and cheaply.

-- While hydrogen has a very high energy density by weight it is one of the lowest energy densities by volume. Storage of hydrogen both on the vehicle and while waiting for transfer to a vehicle is problematic. Associated with this it hydrogen's tendency to leak through most materials.

Oil companies would love to see hydrogen fuel cell cars as they would continue to supply most of the fuel. 95% of the industrial hydrogen today is produced from fossil fuels: Hydrogen is essentially a fossil fuel: "...48% of hydrogen production (for industrial processes) is from natural gas, 30% is from oil, 18% is from coal, and 4% is from electrolysis." http://peswiki.com/index.php/PowerPedia:Hydrogen

1. Where are they?

Honda has one

http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/how-fcx-w...

2. If the technology worked in 1969 then why in 2012 we do not have Fuel cell cars?

Because they cost $200,000

3. Just read where a break through in processing the cells will cut the cost significantly they are making them now but 10 years to market? WHY? http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2012/03/deve%E2%80%A6

It takes time to get stuff from the lab to market and that is if nothing goes wrong

4. WHat is holding the technology back? ( Oil companies? )

Cost.

The Oil companies do not hold anything back. That is a lie from environmentalist.

But even if you had a fuel cell car you would not have anyplace to fuel it.

1973 for the period of the 1st oil disaster. Saudi Arabia, over some dispute, desperate it wasn't going to sell the U. S. any oil. Even then on the those low import tiers it led to a intense ripple in our economic equipment. to no longer point out long lines of people desperate for gas. this ought to have been a awaken call. importing an significant share of a source leaves you vulnerable. 3 years later each and every thing replaced into decrease back to standard and the long gas lines thoroughly forgotten. on the instant we are in touch in 2 wars who's stunning purpose is to maintain the oil flowing. and using powers that be we've not got any option if the oil runs short the two by ability of political whims or rather oil fields determining. we are at the instant seeing the outcomes of extensive populations in India and China entering into their 2 vehicles in each and every storage prosperity. it rather is inflicting a oil scarcity using fact there basically isn't adequate to fill those new gas tanks.

Fuel cell cars are still electric cars - they even need batteries, because the fuel cell can't make the large current spikes needed for acceleration and hill climbing.

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So take an electric car and add a fuel cell and H2 tank. This car is almost certainly going to be more expensive and heavier than a plain battery-only EV.

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So the answer is that electric cars are holding back fuel cell cars. Once we have affordable electric cars, we can start to have affordable fuel cell cars.

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But depending on where the electric car state of the art is by this time, fuel cell cars may not be competitive enough to pursue. That is, if fast charging and long driving ranges become affordable in EVs, this would negate the fuel cell's advantages.