So, firstly, why is so much funding being poured into this research?

Well, the concept behind fuel cell technology is simple. When oxygen and hydrogen ions fuse in a fuel cell chamber, they create electricity as they interact. This electricity is harnessed for locomotion — with water, as opposed to toxic chemicals, as a byproduct. This hydrogen splicing is both efficient and environmentally friendly, which makes it an attractive energy source — particularly for automotive industries.
DaimlerChrylser Corp., for instance, has produced a fleet of fuel cell vehicles that run on compressed hydrogen gas. Wayne State University actually has possession of one of these vehicles — a Mercedes A-Class with a revamped fuel-cell interior — which is used by the police to patrol the streets. Fuel cell vehicles are undergoing trials all across the country, and are slowly being considered a possible alternative for petroleum-run cars.

However, Lawrence Hands of Transportation Riders United (TRU), a Detroit organization dedicated to improving transit in Southeastern Michigan, disagrees with the focus on this technology. Hands said the hydrogen craze is just “a way for the auto industry to avoid doing something now by saying it will do something later.

“Hydrogen may be very environmentally safe to use but it is very costly and difficult to produce. To make hydrogen, you need to expend more energy than you get out when you use hydrogen. A cheap way to make hydrogen is out of natural gas, but this produces lots of greenhouse gas. A more expensive way is from nuclear power plants, even more expensive is from wind or solar energy.”
Until we find a cheaper and easier way to produce it, Hands sees hydrogen fuel cell technology as a very long-term goal for Michigan, if a possibility at all. Hands says that Detroit must invest in transit and get “sprawlsville” to move back into the city. TRU is currently working on a program to get a light rail transit system to run the length of the Woodward corridor ending in Royal Oak or Birmingham. “Light rail vehicles are frequently operated on electricity and there is a range of electricity sources available that are kinder to the environment than hydrogen,” he said.

“If we can reduce the amount of energy we need as a region, we can become more competitive and keep more of our money here. The look of our current region is based on the premise of cheap energy, but really, energy has historically been expensive and may go back to being expensive and an economic limiter.”

Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) agrees with Hands, stating in their June report on transportation funding that “while three major and three smaller transit systems exist in Southeast Michigan, as well as a number of private providers, the alternatives for the region are few. The single occupant vehicle will remain the only mode of travel for most of the region's residents.”

Energy and transportation are definitely major problems in this state. Michigan imports 100% of the coal and uranium and 96% of the petroleum used to power the state. In 2004, imported fuels cost Michigan citizens and businesses roughly $20 billion (about 5% of the State's GDP), “transferring economic power we need here to fossil fuel-rich states and countries and terrorists,” said Hands. “If energy is dear, we will not be able to survive as a region and continue to commute 50 miles a day in a single passenger automobile, but we could commute 3-8 miles per day on a quality transit vehicle.”