Looking at the bullet point summary-it is either misleading or nonsensical:
" Introducing hydrogen as an alternative energy source could add diversity to the supply of transportation fuels, thereby making the United States less dependent on petroleum and making fuel costs more stable and predictable."
B.S. it is not an energy source-alternative or otherwise

"If hydrogen-based fuel cells were put to use generating electricity on a small scale close to areas where electricity is needed, the burden on the current electric grid—the system that generates and distributes electricity—could be eased."
Again ridiculous. Cheaper and more effective to ship natural gas than to waste energy producing hydrogen and shipping the hydrogen.

" If renewable energy is used to make hydrogen, fuel cells could provide a means of storing renewable electricity—something that cannot be done today."
at least acknowledges that we are only talking about a storage medium. Why use such an expensive bulky medium? Current methods of storing electricity are batteries, flywheel or pumped storage(large scale power plant use. More ideal storage would be conversion to liquid fuel. Currently natural gas to alcohol is possible.

"If communities and companies had the ability to generate their own electricity via small fuel cells using renewable energy to make hydrogen, they could fulfill their energy needs locally and would not have to depend as much on imported energy.
• Private companies that develop innovative technologies for using hydrogen as an alternative energy source have the potential to become highly profitable, world-class technology leaders.
• Developing nations that put hydrogen to work right away could leapfrog over the environmentally
destructive practices that have occurred in other countries.
• Reducing the use of petroleum could also reduce the environmental impacts of exploring for, producing, transporting, and refining petroleum, including the potential contamination of groundwater and surface water."
All these ignor the fact that the breakthrough needed is cheap production of energy from a renewable source. Hydrogen as a storage medium is a minor part of the equation. Any environmental benefits are derived soley from the method of energy generation and not from the hydrogen.

RE: RAND Forum on Hydrogen Technology and Policy