In its 2010 budget, the Obama administration put an end to funding for hydrogen fuel cell vehicle research, but Congress is putting that money back in. In the last two days, the relevant committees in both the House and the Senate have issued their versions of the Department of Energy budget. Both reduce investment in renewable energy compared with the president’s budget, and direct money to research into hydrogen programs that the administration deemed too far away from reality to merit funding.

In an interview with Technology Review, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would require four “miracles” to become practical. Chu supports research into better biofuels and batteries instead.