Most of today’s hydrogen cars are also hybrid vehicles as well. I expect this trend to continue well into the very distant future. And, because most hydrogen cars are hybrids, battery technology plays a large role in the success of any vehicle that a manufacturer puts before the public.
Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the United Kingdom have come up with a paper battery that they think will one day power a car. This paper battery stores energy like any other battery and yet can provide bursts of power like a capacitor.
Carbon nanotubes embedded into the paper and soaked with ionic electrolytes provide the power. While many manufacturers are playing rock, paper, scissors to come up with the most viable alternative, at the Polytechnic Institute paper covers rock as the most likely battery of the future.