On Friday, I had the opportunity to attend a Senate briefing on energy infrastructure for fuel cell electric vehicles. The briefing began with preliminary remarks from Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii. Senator Akaka is an important fuel cell supporter and has been influential in introducing and promoting hydrogen legislation in the House and Senate for decades. In the Senator’s mind, hydrogen is the key to the United States achieving energy independence and asserting its leadership. He believes that we are on the threshold of a huge new movement and that we should be excited to take part.

The first presenter was Dr. C.E. Thomas of the National Hydrogen Association. Dr. Thomas outlined a simulation of multiple vehicle types operated over 100 years. The simulation showed that fuel cell vehicles had the best results and would be required in order to meet greenhouse gas and oil reduction targets.

Next up was Sascha Simon from the Advanced Product Planning Group of Mercedes-Benz USA. He talked briefly about Mercedes-Benz’s fuel cell technology roadmap, which is starting with the introduction of the B-Class vehicle in mid-2010. He then went on to describe Germany’s plans for building a hydrogen infrastructure and how cooperation will hopefully allow for a rapid increase in hydrogen fueling stations there.

Representing American auto makers was Charles Freese, the executive Director of Fuel Cell Activities at General Motors. Freese explained Project Driveway, GM’s fuel cell feasibility study. The study turned out to be a huge success, with 119 vehicles used, many as personal vehicles. Throughout the study, the vehicles underwent over 16,000 refueling events, survived through three winters with temperatures as low as -20, and even demonstrated the ability of a fuel cell vehicle to safely survive a collision (Although the last one was not part of the plans). Freese mentioned the ambitious hydrogen infrastructure plans of Germany and Japan, and stated that there really isn’t any reason the United States can’t do the same things.

Last up was Michael McGowan from the Linde Group. He showcased some of the hydrogen fueling stations his group has installed and described some of the advances in construction they have made recently. While earlier stations were limited by how much hydrogen the stations could produce and deliver, the latest stations are only limited by how quickly the driver can get out and perform the fueling process.

Ultimately, it was a very informative briefing. There are certainly plenty of challenges ahead, but with a little bit of effort, we can overcome them to make hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell vehicles a reality.