Yongin, South Korea – When the US government cut funding for hydrogen-fueled cars last May, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said such vehicles will not be practical for another decade or two.

Lim Tae-won thinks he can prove Secretary Chu wrong.


Dr. Lim runs the team at Hyundai-Kia Motors that is developing hydrogen fuel cell technology. And they are on course, he says, to mass produce hydrogen cars in six years.

If they fail, Lim says, the company's future is bleak. "In order to survive we have to be a front runner in the field of eco-friendly vehicles" he says. "It's a question of our sustainability."