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Hello,

As an aerospace engineer, it is my well researched opinion that
fuel cells and the associated hydrogen highway are simply
unrealistic and unworkable goals, both in the short and long
terms.

Hydrogen is simply an energy carrier, much less efficient than
other much simpler choices such as batteries.  It take a lot of
energy to produce hydrogen (now primarily from fossil fuels) and
there is no infrastructure to distribute it. It is very difficult
to store, fuel cell technology is very expensive and finally it is
dangerous.  

Hydrogen, for use in transportation simply makes no sense and it
is a failure.  The ZEV credits for hydrogen cars need to be
dropped immediately and the CARB staff needs to concentrate on
much more workable solutions that are likely to produce results in
the short term (less than 5 years)

Our energy and air quality situation are critical.  Electric
vehicles have been proven effective (Toyota RAV-4) and need to be
brought back to the marketplace.

For example, the combination of solar rooftops and an plug-in cars
(PHEV or BEV) would drastically cut pollution, reduce our foreign
oil dependency, help stabilize the electric grid and produce local
California jobs.

Specifically encouraging people that combine NEV's, plug-in
hybrids and electric cars with sufficient solar panels at home
should be highly praised and rewarded.  Small innovative builders
of electric vehicles must be given the highest encouragement, with
the least encumbrances.  Consider the GOLD credits for locally
produced transportation energy such as home solar and wind.

On a positive note, I would like to thank CARB and encourage
further help to university projects like the SAE Formula Hybrid. 
The recent grant to this project was an excellent choice.  Such
sponsorships are likely to produce excellent results for very
little cost.

Regards,

Francois Choquette
Garden Grove, CA.