Is hydrogen a viable fuel alternative?

"A research investigator at the University of Missouri-Rolla has received a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study how it might one day replace the gasoline in your vehicle’s tank. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as filling up with water. With hydrogen gas, you either need huge tanks – the space shuttle utilizes hydrogen fuel – or dangerously high pressures, according to Dr. William Yelon, a senior research investigator at UMR’s Materials Research Center. Yelon is studying hydrides of elements like lithium and boron to see if they will yield a more user-friendly form of hydrogen. “We’re going to study at what temperature does hydrogen come out of these compounds to produce ‘hydrogen gas,’” he says. “Can we lower the temperature for release? Can we speed up the process?”" Source: physorg.com