Hydrogen hype is rising again—will this time be different?

By Vijay Vaitheeswaran: Global energy and climate innovation editor, The Economist, New York

GUZZLERS OF FIZZY drinks in Brisbane could be helping to tackle climate change in 2023. By the end of the year, the vehicle delivering those sugary beverages may no longer spout climate-warming gases. PepsiCo Australia, the local arm of the world’s biggest purveyor of snacks and drinks, will test a new sort of lorry powered not by a dirty diesel engine but by fuel cells, devices that convert hydrogen to electricity while emitting only water vapour.