The energy bill, the outlines of which were years in the making, contained $125 million for a five-year, fuel-cell bus demonstration program and about $3.5 billion for R&D on fuel-cell technology and hydrogen as a clean fuel source.

Although the U.S. Fuel Cell Council, an industry advocacy group, praised the funding, others believe that by designating such relatively small funding to this technology, Congress has ensured that the United States will lag in the development and application of what some regard as the energy technology and fuel of the future.

Early this month, nations involved in the Clean Urban Transport for Europe project concluded a two-year test of Mercedes Benz fuel-cell buses - 30 total - in 10 European cities.

In Reykjavik, Iceland's capital city, three buses enjoyed a highly successful run, according to Tim Sasseen, a senior field service engineer with Vancouver, Canada-based Ballard Power Systems. Ballard, which is a world leader in the development of fuel cells, partnered on the buses with DaimlerChrysler, Shell Hydrogen and Icelandic New Energy.

"It's gone much better than expected. In every city, the buses increased the service, and the response of passengers was very favorable," he said.

Sasseen said passengers remarked upon the quietness of the buses and lack of vibration compared to diesel-powered vehicles.

"And drivers in Stockholm said they were not as tired at the end of the day due to vibration," he added.

For the field test, the CUTE project involved installing fuel cells on modified Citaro buses, which is the standard Mercedes Benz municipal bus platform. Project cities were in Sweden, Portugal, Germany, Luxembourg, Holland and Spain, as well as in London and Reykjavik. The project was also run in Perth, Australia.

Instead of a normal diesel engine, the buses have aluminum tanks of hydrogen and fuel-cell modules stored on the roof that power the vehicle's electric engine. The buses have a range of 125 to 250 miles, depending on the number of hills along the route and the number of passengers aboard.

Electrolysis-produced hydrogen generates energy to power the buses. Water vapor, the sole emission, escapes through the tailpipe.

Besides being a clean fuel source, fuel cells are two to three times more energy efficient than gasoline, Bragi Arnason, a University of Iceland professor and the nation's hydrogen guru, noted in the July 8 Grapevine, an English-language newspaper.

So far, DaimlerChrysler is the world's leader in fuel-cell adaptation to municipal transit. Toyota has eight hybrid/fuel cell buses in Tokyo, according to Sasseen, and a bus project is set to begin this autumn in Beijing.

Last September, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a demonstration program involving Ford Motor Corp. vehicles equipped with Ballard fuel cells.

Besides mass transit and eventual automobile usage, fuel-cell technology is envisioned for a host of energy applications, including home heating and home electricity and even cellular phone power.

Although the technology is expensive, the comparative cost of producing hydrogen has held steady as the price of oil on the world market increases.

Optimistic estimates are that it will be another five years before fuel-cell buses begin to be cost compatible with diesel buses. It is expected to be several more decades before fuel-cell automobiles are in widespread use.

In April 2004, California Gov. Arnold Swarzenegger signed an executive order creating a public/private partnership to build a network of 150-200 hydrogen fueling stations or a "hydrogen highway" by 2010.

Hydrogen for fuel cells can be harvested from various sources, including natural gas, biomass, coal, oil or water. Producing it from those sources typically results in the generation of carbon dioxide at the beginning of the process, which is counterproductive to the clean-energy concept.

However, the hydrogen produced for the Reykjavik buses comes from water - from Iceland's hydro-electric grid, which is virtually pollution free.

Cardin on energy bill

Congressman Benjamin L. Cardin (D-3rd), was one of four Maryland congressmen (the others were Elijah Cummings, Chris Van Hollen and Roscoe Bartlett), plus Sen. Paul Sarbanes, to oppose the recently-approved energy bill.

"This is not an energy bill," he said. "There's virtually nothing in it to help us become energy sufficient."

Cardin called the measure "not well balanced . in conservation or development of alternative and renewable resources."

He added, "The fossil fuel industry did the best, and that's the area we need to wean ourselves off of."