Not since the days of the ill-fated Ellert has Denmark been a car producing country. But now dwindling oil supplies and the threat of global warming have sped up plans for the production of a hydrogen-powered car, financial daily Børsen reported Friday.

The first prototype of the Hywet car will roll out of the garage in August, powered by fuel cells running on hydrogen. Hydrogen-powered cars could provide a crucial component in energy plans for the future, because their only waste product is water vapor, and hydrogen fuel is essentially unlimited.

Although the car’s technology is still being fine-tuned, Hywet’s developers expect it will soon provide an affordable, green alternative to internal combustion engines, which are responsible for a major portion of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.

The project is the result of a co-operative effort between private companies Heat and Serenergy and Aalborg University, Mariagerfjord Municipality and the Centre for Material and Energy Technology (Cemtec), based in northern Jutland.

Thanks to an electric motor, the two-passenger Hywet can reach a speed of 80 km and accelerate surprisingly briskly.

Current prices for hydrogen mean the Hywet can be fuelled up for DKK 100 (€13.50), making it competitive with conventional petrol and diesel-powered cars.

The car does have some drawbacks. The technology is still costly and an infrastructure for supplying the hydrogen still needs to be developed.

And while the first prototype cost about DKK 1 million, Mikael Kau of Cemtec predicted production models will go for about DKK 200,000, about the price of a traditional mid-sized car in Denmark.

‘In the beginning, they are really expensive, but as soon as a large-scale production begins, then prices will also quickly fall,’ he said.