President Obama Kills the Hydrogen Car

Well, a few years ago General Motors and the other major automakers killed the electric car. This week, President Obama decided to give the EV’s mouth to mouth resuscitation while stabbing a knife in the heart of hydrogen cars.

The Obama Administration and DOE have just decided to cut the hydrogen car budget by 60-percent. While it’s not traditional for an administration to pick winners and losers when it comes to emerging technology, the Obama Administration has done just this.

If the President would have lived a few years back perhaps he would have picked Betamax over VHS and 8-track over cassettes as well? Perhaps the President would like to setup a hydrogen car crusher on the White House lawn to symbolize the end of this zero emission vehicle and hydrogen advocates could hold a funeral just as the EV advocates did?

Now, who else is getting the nod from the Administration? Biofuels, that is who. Biofuels create emissions, not zero emissions like H2 cars do. Biofuels also won’t make a big dent in the overall fuel usage for many years to come.

So, why is the Obama Administration bent on picking winners and losers when it comes to energy technology? This is anyone’s guess. What is certain is that reducing and eliminating competing technologies is not the way to foster competition and quick results. With less competition comes more lethargy and this is not the change we are looking for.