No single renewable energy product can immediately replace oil, but a combination of hydrogen, wind and agricultural by-products may be able to cut U.S. dependence on one of the nation's most-coveted resources in the next 10 to 20 years. We will eventually deplete are supply of fossil fuels and must start taking steps now to become less dependent. Here in the U.S. new technologies are being introduced to perhaps make a dent in the 20 million barrels of crude oil used a day, most of which is used in transportation. Fuel cell technologies using hydrogen may be the "oil" of the future. Toyota Corp. has began a limited release of it's "Highlander" model in a fuel cell version. The hydrogen fuel cell has advantages over the internal combustion engine. Advantages of fuel cells include their ability to generate power more efficiently than internal combustion engines and other conventional power sources, while producing essentially no pollutants; there only waste is water. Fuel cells don't make noise, have no moving parts. Unlike Automobiles that run on batteries fuel cells are almost endlessly rechargeable and offer more power which is a distinct advantage over electric cars such as GMC's EV1.
Disadvantages.
There are currently a few disadvantages of the hydrogen fuel cell automobile. Thy hydrogen based fuel cell cars today are extremely expensive to produce. Not only are the fuel cells themselves expensive, but the hydrogen that powers them is still expensive to produce. Not as much horse power can be obtained from the fuel cell than with the internal combustion engine.
Alternatives .
The internal combustion is dirty and inefficient and the hydrogen fuel cell is not the only alternative. Right now the emphasis seems to be to produce more efficient gasoline engines. The most practical alternative seems to be the hybrid gasoline electric vehicle. In a since it offers the best of both worlds, with the gasoline engine for power when needed, and the electric engine to aid in remaining at constant speeds.