Giving an address in Portsmouth, N.H., Obama announced a plan that includes implementing a cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gasses; investing $150 billion over the next decade to develop new energy sources and create new jobs; improving energy efficiency by 2030; and reducing the United States' dependence on foreign oil 35 percent by 2030.

In a conference call afterward with reporters from early voting states, Obama said hydrogen research would be included in the $150 billion he proposed for research and development.

"So far, we don't have a magic bullet when it comes to energy -- solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, hydrogen ... All of them have great potential, but so far there have been various technological limits," Obama said.

"That's part of the reason we want to make sure we're spurring the kind of investment and innovation and experimentation throughout the economy on all fronts, and hydrogen certainly would be included in that mix."

Hydrogen power has found advocates across South Carolina, including U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis in the Upstate, and researchers at Clemson University and the University of South Carolina.

This state created and is funding the South Carolina Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance, and in March 2007 hired Shannon Baxter-Clemmons to run that organization. Baxter-Clemmons previously had worked on California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen Highway initiative.

A $10 million Hydrogen Research Center opened in Aiken in 2006, and the state Legislature has approved $15 million over three years to support private hydrogen research and development efforts. This year's funding was pulled, however, when an anticipated budget surplus didn't materialize.

Plans are also in the works to bring a hydrogen-fueled bus and a hydrogen fueling station to Columbia.

Fred Humes, chairman of the S.C. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance, said another hydrogen-related announcement will be made today in Aiken.

"A lot of good things are happening," Humes said.

"Hydrogen is part of the solution. I'm not sure it is the entire solution. We're talking decades now. It'll be interesting," he said.