Hydrogen Galore...and other single malts...

Well last week was interesting from a technology and travel point of view.
I was in Oxford, Edinburgh and Newcastle within a couple of days of each other, and I drove the entire way! I was talking to clients and partners about technologies that the company I work with has got. Its all gone Hydrogen, which is a good thing. Hydrogen is going to be the new fuel for transport, but has it got it's work cut out if it wants to compete with smelly diesel or petrol?
Technology is always tomorrow, and as a result people see it and scoff at it, and continue to use the existing technology until, quietly, methodically, inevitably technololgy is there! In your hand...
I note that Hydrogen is always 30 years away acording to some Hacks, but in all realistic terms we've already got it. It's like the day you woke up and realised you can't live without your mobile phone or the internet. I can remember when it was novel to have a mobile telephone, and now my 75 year old father has two!
If we're really going to use Hydrogen, Alternate fuels, Electric cars etc it will happen passivly and without us concensly being aware of it. What do I mean? Well government are pushing for cleaner tail pipe emmisions, and the UK golden target is 100grams per Km out put of Co2. The vehicle companies have duely reduced emmisions, and a vast number of cars are there, we are more likely than ever to purchase a clean tailpipe car than ever, and we would'nt know. We would'nt care that we can fill it up at a petrol station or plug it in, we're used to plugging our phones in every where. So Hydrogen? well it will come because we need to reduce Co2 further, and its an easy change to meet the rules. We wont have a national change over day, or a special Hydrogen Bank Holiday, but cars will move over, infrastructure will move over, technology will move over, and we, the users will never know. Thats the process and relentless march of technology!!

Cars take in the view at Edinburgh Castle last week

What will make hydrogen easier to use is its flexabilty and ease of manufacture, we'll be making it locally and cleanly, and that's the game changer, that's the bit that makes it all worth while, even in the remotest parts of the country, from the highest Highlands of Scotland to the lowest lowlands of the Norfolk fens, Hydrogen will be there.

For reference, I managed 48.8Mpg to Scotland, in my gas guzzler, and I'm happy with that, 630 miles a tank ful makes for better driving. I wonder what the next trip will bring....
Next week... The Nissan Leaf arrives!!!