SMYRNA — A caravan of hydrogen-fueled cars from nine auto manufacturers — and a refueling truck carrying a trailer filled with hydrogen — stopped at Nissan's Smyrna plant on Monday.
The event was part of the Department of Transportation's 13-day trip across the nation showcasing President Bush's hydrogen initiative in the waning months of his presidency.
Manufacturers and DOT employees, confronting oil prices topping $100 per barrel and a nation of frustrated drivers, highlighted the advances that have been made in hydrogen technology as an alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles.
The federal government has spent $1.2 billion during the last five years helping to develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but widespread use of the cars may still be decades away.
In fact, none of the cars tooling around the country as part of the tour is available for consumers to buy. A few are being used in private or government vehicle fleets or are being tested on the road in limited markets such as Southern California.
Nissan's hydrogen vehicle will be ready for mass market sometime between 2010 and 2020, according to Mark Perry, director of product planning for Nissan North America, which is based here.
Still, Department of Transportation Deputy Administrator Cheryl McQueary emphasized that the car industry has come a long way in overcoming hydrogen hurdles.
"This is here,'' she said. "We have the technology. We have nine automotive manufacturers participating with us. This is really real. We need to introduce this to the American public as one of the alternative fuels so we don't have to rely on foreign oil."
But those who follow the industry say the big hurdles aren't so much whether the auto manufacturers can finalize the technology, but other problems such as the creation of hydrogen fueling stations.
"The challenge is creating a distribution system for hydrogen fuel and who is going to do that?" said Lindsay Chappell, bureau chief in Nashville for Automotive News.
In the meantime, automakers have committed to the creation of electric-powered vehicles, which already have a built-in distribution system of sorts, in the power grid and the home electrical outlet.
Nissan has said it will have an electric vehicle ready by 2010 and for mass marketing by 2012.
"We have an existing electrical grid,'' Perry said. "With a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, we don't have that."
Plus, many automakers have been busy for years creating hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles. Hydrogen has been more of a long-term goal.
"We really don't see mass marketing for a hydrogen vehicle for 10 years,'' said research firm J.D. Power & Associates' Mike Omotoso. "Basically, every 10 years, people say it's going to come 10 years from now."
Another problem is the "enormous" amount of energy needed to isolate hydrogen so it can be used as a fuel, according to Jan Mazurek of the Progressive Policy Institute, a nonprofit that has ties to Democratic Party leadership.
Also, most hydrogen for fuel cells comes from increasingly costly natural gas.
"That really doesn't address some of the pressing energy problems we have," Mazurek said. "I would say that's a questionable legacy for the Bush administration."
Still, many who follow the industry say that hydrogen makes sense as a fuel for the future, even if its impact remains years away. One advantage is the promise of zero emissions — basically the vehicle would emit water vapor.
"It is very important to our national security that we become more energy independent, as well as to our financial security,'' said U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Murfreesboro, who spoke at the news media tour. "This is something we owe my 7-year-old daughter and your kids and grandkids."
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