Could hydrogen be the fuel of the future?

Could hydrogen be the fuel of the future? The fuel tanks in BMW's hydrogen cars are made of 70 layers of fiberglass and aluminum March 16, 2001Web posted at: 4:43 p.m. EST (2143 GMT) By Marsha Walton CNN Science and Technology MUNICH, Germany (CNN) -- No more smelly fumes at the gas station. No more polluting C02 emissions. Far less dependence on uneven supplies of fossil fuels. Could hydrogen, the simplest and most abundant element in the universe, address both energy and clean air concerns? BMW is committing a lot of engineering resources to find an answer to that question. Alternative fueled vehicles often conjure up visions of heavy and clunky electric cars, a good idea that's just "not quite there yet." And certainly not the image of speed and performance BMW cultivates. So it was important to BMW that their hydrogen vehicle look like their other products. BMW conducted numerous crash tests to see what would happen if the hydrogen tank was punctured or damaged. Their engineers report the liquid hydrogen dissipated harmlessly into the air. A few pilot projects using hydrogen fuel exist in the United States. Several are in California, where residents are more in tune with energy alternatives such as solar and wind power for electricity generation. And because of recent rolling blackouts and enormous increases in electric costs, perhaps more open to looking beyond current technology.