Hydrogen vehicles are slowly growing in popularity, but they have managed to capture the attention of Jeremy Clarkson, former host of the popular car show Top Gear. He recently wrote a column for the Sunday Times in which he notes his bafflement concerning the auto industry’s slow adoption of fuel cell technology. Clarkson made the point to note that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the known universe and that fuel cell vehicles produce no harmful emissions.

In the past, the former Top Gear guy has been criticized for taking climate change too lightly. He is, however, an advocate for clean transportation, as long as the performance of vehicles is not sacrificed.

Clarkson says he can’t understand why car-makers are refusing to adopt hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuel. He adds that the industry has the technology to begin making fully functioning hydrogen-powered cars right away, but is “sitting on its hands” and refusing to do so.

Hydrogen cars were trialled by several companies, including Honda, several years ago, Clarkson says, but early efforts stalled. Now, though, a British firm is giving it a go again. A small Welsh company called Riversimple has developed a hydrogen car called the Rasa.

Clarkson concludes: car manufacturers need to come up with a car that looks like a Fiesta but runs on hydrogen technology.