Alternative Energy

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Higher gas taxes needed to fund hydrogen fuel technology, supplier CEO says
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Higher gas taxes needed to fund hydrogen fuel technology, supplier CEO says

The federal gasoline tax should be bumped up to fund the development of hydrogen technology as an alternative vehicle fuel, said Metaldyne Corp. chairman and CEO Tim Leuliette today.

Speaking at the 2007 Automotive News World Congress in Dearborn, Leuliette pointed out that drivers in the United States pay only 30 percent to 40 percent of what motorists in other industrialized countries pay for petrol.

"Gasoline is too cheap in America," said Leuliette. He said the United States is alone among industrialized nations in having no national energy policy, and he faulted Washington for failing to develop one. Leuliette said U.S. dependence on foreign oil is a threat to national security, the environment and the economy.

Hydrogen, he said, is the best alternative but will require a substantial investment to develop. He suggests the federal tax fluctuate with the rise and fall in oil prices so that consumers always pay the same at the pump.

Plymouth-based Metaldyne, a maker of power train and chassis components, was recently purchased by Japanese rival Asahi Tec.