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What the Future May Hold

It's difficult to predict where the automotive world will draw its fuel from in the long term. The internal combustion engine is far from dead and further efficiencies and integration of hybrid technology will lengthen their life span for some time to come. The use of fuels produced from a renewable resource also makes sense to a certain extent, though there are several hurdles to overcome for bio-fuels to be practical for widespread use.

Various concept cars shown at the international motor shows give us a glimpse into the scientists' and engineers' ideas for the future. Along with various takes on the hybrid route, it looks like hydrogen will be investigated seriously. BMW and Mazda have already made production-quality cars running internal combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen. Another major potential use for hydrogen is in fuel cells, where it can be combined with oxygen to form water and electrical power.

That may sound idyllic, but the world is still very far away from a 'hydrogen economy'. Disregarding the fact that there is no distribution network in place for the gas, there has yet to be a satisfactory method developed for the production of the hydrogen in the first place without a negative effect on the environment. It certainly has potential, though perhaps not in our lifetime.

Wednesday June 6

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