The debate surrounding the future of green technologies in the car industry, and in particular that of fuel cells, looks set to continue if this year's Tokyo car show is anything to go by.

Experts and business leaders at the event discussed a range of issues surrounding fuel cells and also looked at the increasing number of alternatives to tackling emissions from vehicles so as to comply with legislation being put in place around the world.

Speaking at the event, Carlos Ghosn, head of Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan Motor, argued: "The only breakthrough technology is fuel cell because this is the one that guarantees you are out of oil dependency."

However, he acknowledged that it will be "a very long time" before fuel cells take over completely from oil powered vehicles, leaving a myriad of options in the medium term that could threaten the future development of fuel cells.

As more car manufacturers look to other options, such as dual-fuel engines, "plug-in" electric hybrids, and diesel hybrids, the development of fuel cell technology may suffer from a lack of interest and investment from the automotive industry.

Toyota, for example, is keen to push the hybrid market and is adding the powertrain option to more of its models.

Ford, on the other hand, is taking what director Mary Ann Wright described to Reuters as a "portfolio approach".

She explained: "With all these possibilities on the horizon, it's tough to predict what the future is going to hold."

Therefore, fuel cell developers may need to speed up their work if they are to corner the future automotive market in the way that oil has done until now.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd