Where do things stand now with hydrogen power?
GE and other companies are moving to hydrogen fuel cells for home use by next year. This is just about where the P.C. and the Internet revolution was in the ’80s; in other words, it’s beyond the point of pure R&D, but just at the very beginning of market penetration. There are about 850 companies rushing into this. And for stationary fuel cells, we have 30 states that now mandate that if you generate energy at the end of the line with renewable [power sources], they’ve got to accept your energy back to the power grid. There’s also legislation nationally in the U.S. that would make the whole power grid open. You will also see it in cartridges for laptops and cell phones. Motorola is doing a methane fuel cell, others are doing hydrogen. You’ll be able to power-up your cellphone for 40 days. That’s in the next year or so. That’s when the public will be acquainted with fuel cells. Big oil has long been accused of doing everything it can to squelch research into alternative energy sources.
