It’s been hyped for it’s cleanliness (it’s only visible emission is water) and it’s futuristic hi-techiness (the technology has powered the space shuttle and submarines), but hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have also gotten a bad rap for using a technology that won’t be available until too far in the future and that just can’t compete with the market-ready electric vehicles (see Who Killed the Electric Car?).

For a look beyond the hype and the criticism, we stopped in at the Vancouver Fuel Cell Vehicle Program (VFCHP) to find out just what these engines can and can’t do. In this video, Mark Rossetto, Manager of the Vancouver fleet, showed us under the hood (and body) of one of their fuel cell vehicles.