Hydrogen Fuel CellThe hydrogen fuel cell could revolutionize the world. This ingenious technology, which creates electricity from the chemical reactions of hydrogen and oxygen, has passed many of the critical tests along the way from invention to innovation in its 150-year history. Recent developments in fuel cell technology and concomitant developments in the energy and automotive sectors have brought the world to the brink of the era of fuel cells and the hydrogen economy. The future, however, is inherently dark. Fuel cells still face significant technological, political and economic hurdles before they can realize their truly extraordinary potential. An examination of these obstacles, set against the backdrop of an explanation of the current state of the art in fuel cell technology and the current and developing economic and regulatory landscape, will provide insights into the much-hyped future of fuel cells. In the near future, fuel cells will play a much larger role in the world's energy economy. The extent to which this innovation will revolutionize the world will depend on any number of technological, economic and political factors. To understand the potential impact and subsequent policy implications of the fuel cell, it is first necessary to explain the fuel technology. cell. The fuel cell uses the chemical properties of hydrogen to produce electricity. "...[T]hey produce an electric current by intercepting electrons flowing from one reactant to another in an electrochemical reaction."1 Fuel cells require only a fuel containing hydrogen and oxygen, usually from atmospheric air, to produce electricity. A fuel cell using pure hydrogen produces this electricity... middle of paper... Taxes lead to burial at sea," New Scientist, 3 August 1996."English Conference of the Parties," Kyoto Protocol to the Framework Convention on United Nations on climate change." http://www.cnn.com/SPECICALS/1997/global.warming/stories/treat/index4.html"Cleaner Energy", The Economist. 18 April 1998. p17.Ibid.Ibid."Climate Change Fact Sheet 24", UNFCCC Climate Change Fact Sheet. http://www.unfccc.de/resource/iuckit/fact24.html"Summary of CO2 emissions in the United States of America", United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 11/18/99. http://www.unfccc.deThe Economist. April 18, 1998. New Scientist, August 3, 1996. "Fill'er Up: With Hydrogen," Reuters, August 16, 1999. Available at Wired News, http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282, 21293,00.html."Fuel cells meet big business", The Economist. July 24, 1999.IbidIbid