Too much hope built on hybrids?

Not another fuel cell vehicle

The hydrogen economy. For decades that was Detroit's mantra. Why worry about trying to increase fuel economy when gas was cheap and fuel cell vehicles were just around the corner, they argued. After decades of delays, the success of the Toyota Prius, and battery development breakthroughs, most have come to favor the plug-in revolution, rather than the hydrogen revolution. While hydrogen might make sense one day, battery-powered electrification makes more sense today.

But does plug-in electrification make enough sense today?

No one has yet proven that the safe, reliable and cost-effective mass production of battery technology for plug-ins is viable. Likewise, most lithium is mined in only a few places in the world, and there is much potential for supply and demand conflicts. Current NiMH technology, found in today's hybrid vehicles, is even more problematic for wide scale adoption.

None of this should be used as an excuse to limit efforts towards electrification. However, it does beg the question of whether electrification is enough, at least for today. Hence, isn't a push towards much smaller and lighter vehicles, for instance, also very important? Ultimately, shouldn't the revolution of the automobile be about much more than just what powers an automobile?