Brussels, 29/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - Philippe Busquin, European Commissioner for Research, unveiled on Monday the prototype of the new "fuel-cell" cars, which operate on hydrogen. EU research programmes have been supporting this project since 1988, in increasingly larger amounts. The result is a prototype manufactured by a group of major EU car makers.
Mr Busquin expressed the conviction that Europe "is making real progress in the development of a means of transport reconciling the comfort of a traditional car with zero pollution" and he welcomed the productive co-operation taking place between research and industry. The Commissioner voiced the hope that the release of this type of vehicle would convince decision-makers and industry that it is a viable and ecological means of transport.
The fuel cell works on hydrogen and is therefore non-polluting and makes no noise because there is no engine. But a number of problems remain to be solved: the cost is very high, the vehicle has limited autonomy (450 km for a car, 200 for a bus), hydrogen is inflammable, a new distribution network will be needed, and so on. According to Mr Busquin, however, these difficulties can be overcome and the first fuel cells could be marketed by 2003/2004, when the cost of cars equipped therewith would only be around 10% higher than a traditional car. Failing initiatives of this kind, pollution due to the transport sector will continue to increase, which is incompatible with the EU's undertakings on CO² emissions.