"Tonight I am proposing $1.2 billion in research funding so that America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles,' declared us President George Bush in his State of the Union Address to the congress in January 2003. The announcement is just one among a spate of recent developments worldwide which indicate that the journey towards a hydrogen economy is gathering speed. This, despite the possibility of hairpin bends ahead.

Predictably, the automobile industry has been at the forefront of the research and development initiative. It has spent at least us $2 billion during the past few years on studying hydrogen fuel cells. DaimlerChrysler alone has committed us $1 billion over a decade. On its part, General Motors (gm) has announced major investments in two companies specialising in hydrogen storage and delivery.

But the startling aspect of the hydrogen development drive is the active involvement of major oil firms. They, too, have forked out the big bucks. Shell established Shell Renewables in 1997 and Shell Hydrogen in 2000; bp/Amoco is investing us $500 million in renewables over the next three years and ChevronTexaco has purchased a 20 per cent stake in Energy Conversion Devices