Dual-fuel pickup: H₂ and Diesel

23 April 2004

From Saskatchewan comes news of the world’s first hydrogen-diesel pickup truck.

This is not a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that runs on electricity; this truck uses hydrogen in its internal combustion engine. This latter approach to using hydrogen as a fuel is one that has some environmentalists concerned due to the total energy cost.

Nevertheless, it is an approach being taken by other manufacturers, such as BMW, which has been showing its 745h hydrogen-gasoline prototype vehicle since 2001. BMW CEO Helmut Panke has said that the company will add such a hybrid configuration to the retail lineup in a few years.

“By the time we have those cars [in the catalog], we will probably have a number of hydrogen fuel stations at our retail centres.”

Which is another way to solve the fueling problem -- provide it yourself.