Scientific American Frontiers: Discuss the importance of design and styling to developing and creating demand for environmentally-friendly automobiles. Is it as important as the technology? And what has stood in the way of marrying design and environmental concerns before?

Chris Borroni-Bird: For fuel cell vehicles to sell in large enough quantities to make a societal difference they will need to look attractive and offer useful features that are not easily available with the conventional internal combustion engine vehicle because there are only a small number of people who buy vehicles for environmental reasons only. Fuel cell vehicles will be marketed and promoted differently and a unique look will help to communicate this. Fundamentally, the technology has to deliver a certain level of performance at an acceptable price, but a key differentiator, as with conventional vehicles, may well be the exterior proportions and interior spaciousness and design. Typically, environmentally-friendly technologies are developed without much regard to design-enabling benefits because the assumption is that environmental benefit is sufficient. However, my group's mission and name-Design and Technology Fusion-communicates the importance we attach to thinking about technology through the lens of design. When executed correctly, the two have a symbiotic relationship in that good design promotes technology and vice versa.

Scientific American Frontiers: Given the importance of oil on the domestic and foreign policy of the United States, what sociopolitical changes could we expect from a switch to hydrogen-powered cars?

Chris Borroni-Bird: Fuel cell-powered vehicles have the potential to revolutionize power and mobility. Imagine a world where we do not have to concern ourselves with the supply of oil from the Middle East-it would revolutionize government priorities, military spending and make Americans feel much more safe and secure. Imagine that the hydrogen fuel could come from a variety of sources, such as from corn (Midwest), hydroelectric power (Quebec), nuclear power (California), solar cells (Southwest), wind (Dakotas), etc. Not only would this create very many, technologically advanced new jobs, but this diversity would also dramatically stabilize the economy from fluctuations in supply from one source. At a more personal level, imagine being able to refuel at home (using home electrolyzers or reformers) each night and, in a pinch, being able to provide back-up power for the home if there is a blackout. These capabilities would give individuals more independence and options, and make life easier for them. The benefit and flexibility of this technology is so powerful that it could literally open up hundreds of new markets around the world to where entire populations who now only dream of owning an automobile will soon be able to buy one.

Scientific American Frontiers:How will the cars of the future compare to today's cars in terms of life expectancy and general durability? How many miles could we expect to get from a car like the AUTOnomy?

Chris Borroni-Bird: Fuel cells that have been placed in stationary service have demonstrated much longer durability than engine generator sets. Of course, electrical systems are not 100% reliable but I feel that the shift from mechanical systems to electrical systems should help durability and reliability, as there are fewer moving parts that can fail. I think it is possible that we could even see the day when the fuel cell powertrain so dramatically outlives the vehicle that it could lead to a situation where the technology-rich (and, therefore, major cost element) chassis might be mortgaged and that the body could be replaced far more frequently as fashions or customer needs evolve.

Scientific American Frontiers:Can you think of an earlier technological development that parallels the enormous social, economic and political changes that would come about with a move towards hydrogen-powered vehicles?

Chris Borroni-Bird: The shift to hydrogen-powered vehicles will dramatically improve the environmental and geopolitical landscape and stimulate completely new employment opportunities that evolve ever cleaner and cheaper hydrogen production. If the hydrogen is used in a fuel cell, rather than an engine, additional revolutionary implications can emerge such as a true reinvention of the automobile and an accelerated shift towards decentralized electricity generation and electrification. Within the field of energy, this shift to hydrogen could be compared with the shift from coal to oil in the 19th century; that shift enabled the benefits of a piston engine for propelling automobiles and aircraft. In terms of power, the shift to fuel cells could be as significant as the introduction of electricity 100 years ago and would reverse the centralizing nature of today's electric power generation, transmission and distribution. Another more recent analogy might be with the Internet in that this shift does for energy, environment and electricity what the Internet has accomplished for information and communications.

Scientific American Frontiers: How would you like to see hydrogen fuel manufactured?

Chris Borroni-Bird: I would like to see hydrogen manufactured in a way that makes the world a cleaner place and makes everyone less dependent on a volatile region of the world for their energy supply. In the near-term, hydrogen that is made from natural gas can help on both of these counts, but the real improvements will occur when hydrogen can be made affordably from renewable sources. Only then will this energy revolution be complete.