DaimlerChrysler has announced that its first hydrogen-powered car using fuel cell technology will be on sale from 2012.

The technology will be available in the Mercedes-Benz A-Class cars, which are currently undergoing testing in Japan, Germany, Singapore and the US.

The company will first have to overcome remaining technical obstacles, including extending fuel cells' reliability and durability and ensuring that they start at sub-freezing temperatures.

Reducing costs and storing enough hydrogen in a small enough space to be workable are also considerations, as is the issue of hydrogen filling stations, which are currently not widely available.

Shell Hydrogen chief executive Jeremy Bentham said that once consumers demanded hydrogen filling stations, energy companies would begin to build them.

"We see that these vehicles have the potential to be attractive to consumers," he told Reuters. "Our job is to make sure we are prepared for that business."

Hydrogen is already produced in refineries for industrial purposes and the energy industry needs to build the infrastructure to sell it to consumers, said Mr Bentham.

He said Europe would need 50 million tons of hydrogen per year to power cars running on hydrogen fuel.