Electric and Hydrogen = Chicken and Egg

Traveling through Europe last year, I noticed significant variations in air quality from city to city. Standing in a busy square with my eyes closed, it’s not hard to tell which city has an enlightened air pollution policy, and which is still in thrall to the internal combustion engine. Amsterdam vs. Warsaw? No competition.

Who hasn’t breathed in pungent fumes near a main road and cursed the scourge of IC emissions? Who hasn’t then gone on a flight of fancy imagining the same stretch of highway populated only by near-silent EVs? Or maybe hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, pure water dripping from the tailpipes and daisies thriving in the lush roadside vegetation?

Unfortunately, these blissful scenes seem far off, for not only must sales of new energy vehicles replace their gas-guzzling predecessors, but also second-hand versions of the latter will continue to be driven until the ends of their useful lives for many decades to come. The situation can only be improved by investment in infrastructure to help make these clean vehicles viable for everyday commercial and personal use. And infrastructure will not come at a rapid rate until adoption of new energy vehicles is greater. Chicken? Egg? Who knows?

Peter MacLeod ???? , Editor [email protected]

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