The Coming Hydrogen Economy Fuel cells powered by hydrogen are about to hit the market. In time, they'll let us kiss the sheikhs goodbye. FORTUNE Monday, November 12, 2001 By David Stipp As far back as Jules Verne, visionaries have predicted that society will someday be utterly transformed by energy based on hydrogen. The lightweight gas, the most abundant element in the universe, can be made from water. It is wondrously clean, emitting mainly pristine steam when burned. When fed into fuel cells, which generate electricity, it offers unprecedented efficiency--these electrochemical reactors extract twice as much useful energy from fuel ...