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Brian Johnston, an engineer with Japanese car manufacturer Nissan, is pleased with the development of the car, in spite of its high cost.

Brian Johnston, an Nissan engineer, said, "Nissan has made very good progress on the durability, however when it comes to costs we are still looking for a few more breakthroughs."

This model of the vehicle cost half a million pounds to build.

And there are only three hydrogen filling stations in the whole of the UK, including this one at Birmingham University.

However, this fuel cell technology could have its biggest impact on water travel.

Professor Rex Harris from the University of Birmingham has built the first fuel cell powered canal boat. He is convinced that fuel cell engines could be adapted to suit much larger vessels.

Professor Harris said, "I think it's scalable, we know of one example in Germany where they store a tonne of hydrogen in a similar way that what we do so it can be scaled up, clearly, and I think it's a practical proposition."

While the potential for hydrogen fuel is growing, it's only one part of the equation.

The high production costs of vehicles run on fuel cells and the lack of filling stations mean hydrogen cars will continue to be a rare sight -- at least in the foreseeable future.