A few years ago if someone told you that you could power a car with hydrogen, it would have probably sounded a lot like a plot for a bad science fiction movie.

Well, now it is a reality.

Charles A. Myers, president of the Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition, said at the New England International Auto Show that people should expect to see fuel cell cars on the road in Massachusetts by the end of this year.

What is a fuel cell car?

A fuel cell car is a zero emissions, odorless vehicle that is run solely off of hydrogen. The only thing that comes out of the car is, as you might guess, water vapor.


Cool! But where do you get the hydrogen?

At a gas station of course! But, there is so far only one in Massachusetts in Billerica. Myers said there will be two more stations that fill up fuel cell cars Charlestown and Braintree by April and more to come after that.

How does filling your car up with hydrogen work?

Myers said it is no different than filling up a normal car. You put the pump in and it takes 3 to 5 minutes to fill up. He also said some personal hydrogen fueling devices are in the works so you wouldn’t even have to go to a gas station.

Where does the hydrogen come from?

“Hydrogen can be made in state. It is money used right here,’’ Myers said. It will not be something that has to be imported from other countries, like gasoline.

So, how far will your hydrogen car go?

Myers said cars are expected to go 300 or so miles with one tank of hydrogen — really no different than a regular gas-run car.

Will AAA come if you run out of hydrogen?

Myers said that car manufacturers will have individual service programs to help people who run out of hydrogen if they are not anywhere near a filling station.


How much will it cost to fuel it?

“I would say it is about the same,’’ Myers said. “You will not be saving any money.’’ But, he did say that it takes less energy to generate hydrogen than it does to generate gasoline.

Who is on board with this?

In 2013, Massachusetts, along with Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, Maryland, California, and Oregon, began to develop a Multi-State Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Action plan. Their goal is to have 3.3 million ZEVs by 2025 – 300,000 of those vehicles being in the Bay State.

Okay, so this sounds pretty good. Do these cars actually already exist?

Yes! Toyota had one on display at the New England International Auto Show that is expected to come out for sale later this year once there are more filling stations. The Toyota Mirai is a four-door sedan and is expected to cost about $57,000, but there might be an opportunity for some sort of government credit, according to Don Delias, a Toyota subject matter expert on the Mirai. He said you could do a lease for $495 per month for three years.

Are there any other ones not at the New England Auto Show?

The Hyundai Tucson is already for sale and the Honda Clarity is expected to come out sometime soon as well.

Who should get one of these?

“Trailblazers’’ and “people who want to lead change,’’ according to Delias. “It is more about the way people think and if they want to be a part of something new,’’ he added. Delias said people are already driving them in Japan. “The plant makes one per day and we can’t keep up with it,’’ he said, so they are going to begin to increase production.