In order to fuel up the hydrogen cars of the future, the H2 will most likely come from a number of sources. If scientists in Germany and Australia have anything to say about it, large amounts of hydrogen will come from algae they’ve been blooming at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia and the University of Bielefeld in Germany.
A single-celled hydrogen generator called Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is responsible for producing an especially large amount of H2 gas as compared to algae that is found in the wild. The scientists estimate that this genetically altered variant gives off fives times as much as other varieties. The new super-algae still falls short of economic feasibility, but given several more years of research and development, we all may be one day pulling up to fuzzy green pumps and saying, “Filler up with photosynthesis synthetic premium grade algae please.”
Actually, a more likely scenario is that each of us will be able one day to cultivate our own algal filling stations right at home and wouldn’t that be a gas?