What Happened to Hydrogen?

When it comes to the economy, we ought to look much deeper for a solution -- like on the atomic level.

Some researchers at Purdue University recently claimed to have perfected a new hydrogen-generating technology that they first announced earlier this year -- a "pollution-free energy source" that can break down water directly into hydrogen and oxygen without input power. According to TG Daily, "This technology's greatest potential asset is the ability to create hydrogen on demand. If the researchers vision becomes a reality, this means that a vehicle's fuel tanks can be filled with safe water. Only one device near the engine compartment is required to actually produce the explosive hydrogen."

That got me thinking: whatever happened to the push for hydrogen-powered cars?

Last I remember, it was sometime in 2003 when President Bush spoke about the benefits of hydrogen fuel. "Tonight I'm proposing $1.2 billion in research funding so that America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles," he said in his Jan. 29 State of the Union address. "Hydrogen fuel cells represent one of the most encouraging, innovative technologies of our era," he said in early February of the same year.

But since then, I haven't heard much. If it's so encouraging, how come the average American hasn't been, well, encouraged?

It's been a long while since I've seen a hydrogen-powered BMW on the street, and even the non-hydrogen hybrid Toyota Prius has come and gone, at least as a status symbol. Outside of ivory tower labs and automobile company drawing boards -- and a cute slapped-together government website -- the promise of exhaust pipes dripping water is hard to find, especially among today's headlines.

Maybe it's the din of Iraq, but I want to know: What happened to hydrogen?