Hydrogen is used to make household items such as fertilizers, vitamins, cosmetics, soap cleaners, and is used to hydrogenate food like margarine and peanut butter. Hydrogen is an integral part of many industrial processes, and is used to make ammonia, gasoline, heating oil, glass, semiconductor circuitry and even power shuttles in the space program.
Perhaps the most exciting potential use for hydrogen would be fuel cell vehicles. Fuel cells would allow us the freedom of a operating a conventional vehicle, but producing zero emissions.
Vehicles generally use hydrogen in one of two methods: combustion or fuel-cell conversion. In combustion, the hydrogen is burned, in much the same way we used traditional gasoline. In fuel-cell conversion hydrogen flows through fuel-cell compartments and reacts with oxygen to produce electricity with the only emission being water vapor.
The state of California has implemented a plan to have a hydrogen highway by 2010. According to plan, every California citizen should have access to hydrogen fuel along the state highways, and this will mean 150-200 fuelling stations at a maximum distance of 20 miles. British Columbia is also proposing a Hydrogen Highway linking the provinces capital, Victoria , through Vancouver and Whistler for the 2010 Olympic games, with 20 fuelling stations currently planned.
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