What do they have to do with hydrogen and fuel cells? Keynote addresses at NHA’s 2010 Hydrogen Conference & Expo drew comparisons between the old and new.

CaFCP’s Catherine Dunwoody kicked things off by announcing the release of CaFCP’s Progress and Next Steps Report. She compared wagon trains’ journey on the Oregon Trail to the progression of fuel cell vehicles to the commercial market. Read the transcript of her speech here. GM’s Charles Freese used a cell phone analogy to discuss technical progress of vehicles. And Markus Bachmeier from Linde talked about the joining of the railroad tracks at Promontory Point as an example of codes and standards. (May 10 was the anniversary of that milestone, by the way!)

Several CaFCP staff gave presentations at the well-attended conference, and CaFCP kept up a near-constant Twitter feed at #NHA2010. In addition, Nico Bouwkamp put together a standing-room-only workshop about renewable hydrogen and Jordan McRobie hosted a breakfast for local government and environmental groups.

At the ride & drive, CaFCP staff asked people to describe their experience behind the wheel of a fuel cell vehicle in one word. Check our Flickr page to see what people said. “Smooth” came up most often, followed by “fantastic.” On our YouTube channel, you can see some videos from Chris, Ben and Juan.

A conference highlight was Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governor’s appearance was a surprise, and the ballroom at the Long Beach Convention Center was packed for his speech. Afterward, he quickly toured the Expo floor, stopping briefly at each booth of companies that do business in California. You can read the Governor’s speech here.

It was another great conference from NHA, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s event in Washington DC.

(Photo courtesy of: Jerome Pennington, National Hydrogen Association)