1. What effect do you think fuel cell technology will have on the further development of conventional internal combustion engines? It is the usefulness of the motor car that has made it so dangerous to the environment. When it was a product affordable only by the relatively affluent in rich countries, it posed little threat.

But its advantages of mobility, both for leisure and to increase earning power, made it one of the first purchases of aspiring consumers as nations around the world increased their wealth during the latter half of the twentieth century. In the most developed nations, attempts to control and reduce the environmentally damaging emissions from motor engines have centred on strengthening environmental legislation, especially in the world’s largest car markets. Car makers realized that existing engine technology could, in the foreseeable future, become redundant. Even though modern engine technology has improved the emissions from car engines dramatically, many believe that conventional engines are nearing the limit of their refinement in this area.