Hydrogen Powered Volkswagen Comes To Chattanooga As Part of National Hydrogen Road Tour

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The future in hydrogen powered cars rolled into town today.

Six hydrogen fueled vehicles, including a Volkswagen are visiting 31 US Cities as part of the National Hydrogen Road Tour.

While those cars aren't ready for mass production quite yet... The quiet, clean vehicles might not be as far off as you think.

It's sporty...it reaches speeds near 90 miles per hour... and it gets the equivalent of 60 miles per gallon.

VW Advanced Powertrain Research Program Manager John Tillman says, "And it does that without any combustion process and no emissions other than water."

It's the Volkswagen Touran and it's just one of six hydrogen powered cars making a 24,000 mile trip across the US to promote the feasibility of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source.

Jim Frierson, Executive Director of UTC's Advanced Transportation Technology Institute says, "This is not yet a consumer story. This is a research, development, and deployment story. But today the public gets a chance to understand it's just over the horizon."

The technology has been floating around for years and the commercial availability of hydrogen powered cars is fast becoming a reality.

Auto companies produce only a limited number of these vehicles, but that number is expected to climb exponentially as interest and hydrogen fueling stations increase.

Tillman explains, "There's the chicken and egg question. Which is first, the vehicles or the stations. They really have to grow together."

Currently the Hydrogen Road Tour vehicles bring their fueling stations along.

But, the US produces 9 million Tons of hydrogen fuel every year... that's enough to run 34 million cars...

Cheryl McQueary, Deputy Administrator for Research and Innovative Technologies for the Department Of Transportation says, "Americans are looking for change in the way we manage energy in our country."

Officials expect affordable hydrogen powered cars and the fuel stations to support them could be a reality by 2015.