Race for hydrogen-powered cars is on as first mass production fuel cell vehicles roll off assembly line

Fuel cell engines are not a new concept, in fact the first fuel cell vehicle came about in 1959. However, the technology has always been too expensive to develop for the mass market, hindering its advancement for the past fifty years. However, today Hyundai announced they are mass producing a car that runs completely on hydrogen, a zero emissions vehicle in which the only by-product is water. According to Hyundai Vice Chairman, Eok Jo Kim the car "proves that hydrogen fuel cell technology in daily driving is no longer a dream." The first thousand cars are due to be built by 2015 as fleet vehicles in Europe, available for public and private vehicle leasing. After this Hyundai is planning to release the vehicle for consumer sales, with the hope of lower production costs and a more developed refueling network.