How to Invest in Hydrogen Car Technology

Fuel-efficient vehicles with lower emissions rates are becoming more popular as awareness of the environmental impact of energy use and the availability of fuel technology increases. Scientists have been researching hydrogen as a potential fuel source for years. Consumers can support this emerging energy technology by investing both in car companies that develop hydrogen cars and energy companies that build hydrogen car infrastructures.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Differentiate between hydrogen combustion and hydrogen fuel cells. Normal combustion engines can be converted to run on hydrogen. Most hydrogen cars use hydrogen fuel cells to run an electric motor, so fuel cells are the most common type of hydrogen fuel technology.
2. Gather information about existing hydrogen cars. Though they may be expensive, some cars, like the Toyota Prius and the Ford Focus, have already been manufactured using fuel cell technology.
3. Find out which car companies actively utilize hydrogen fuel technology and support these companies as a consumer or shareholder. General Motors, Ford, BMW, Toyota and Honda are just a few of the many car companies exploring hydrogen fuel options.
4. Research domestic and international energy companies that support the development of hydrogen cars and hydrogen infrastructure. Icelandic New Energy, Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., and Shell Oil Company are just a few organizations working to promote hydrogen technology and the development of an adequate system of filling stations to support the use of hydrogen cars.
5. Look for partnerships that are based in geographic areas active in hydrogen technology. Partnerships provide investment safety in numbers. The California Fuel Cell Partnership provides an extensive network of developers, and Iceland and New Zealand are also attentive to energy issues.
6. Invest in companies that provide mass amounts of energy to large energy consumers like hotels and factories and companies such as FuelCell Energy and Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies.
7. Pay attention to government support of hydrogen technology. Statements of government support frequently result in a market boom for fuel cells, but afterwards the value soon declines again. More sustained support may come in the form of increased government subsidies or the use of hydrogen technology in government sectors such as the military.

Tips & Warnings

• Be prepared for slow, steady growth of the hydrogen fuel industry as technology expands and the infrastructure develops to more readily accommodate hydrogen fuel.
• Invest in companies that support multiple sources of energy rather than hydrogen fuel exclusively. While hydrogen technology is appealing, one fuel source will never fill the world's many energy needs, and energy trends change based on a variety of factors.