Ethanol converted directly to H2, just before injection into the fuel cell, requires no storage; ethanol uses the same storage tanks as today's gasoline powered cars. The efficiency of the total system is 60% to 200% higher than any vehicle that uses an internal combusting mechanical engine with its numerous moving parts. Its important to look at the whole system, not just one part of it.
Yes electric motors will take over because we will be forced to use what is most efficient. Electric motors operate at 95% and above efficiency. Most rotating, internal combusting engines used today operate at below 15% efficiency outside the lab. Therefore, hybrid systems using internal combusting engines will soon be outmoded, as foreign firms move to all electric systems, much like GM's (unused but developed) Hy-Wire car:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/working-prototype-gm-hywire-concept-172869.php
Ethanol from sugar cane is currently produced in three southern states, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florda, where the weather pattern is similar to Brazil. The reasons why ethanol from sugar cane is over eight times more productive than from corn are detailed elsewhere in these postings. One reason to note is that each planting of sugar cane can be harvested six times before another planting is needed. Brazil has done the world a favor by showing a profitable business model and developing new strains of high yield sugar cane. America is now behind the energy and efficiency curve, and will continue to go downhill unless we change our cultural attitudes. Inefficiency costs us a ton of money.
Ethanol from sugar cane that is used to power either fuel cells or IC engines, provides us with a low CO2 footprint because it removes CO2 from the atmosphere during its growing cycle. I have seen no calculations yet, but if all the southern states were to grow some sugar cane, its likely we wont have to import oil. This business strategy will make the world safer because we wont have to threaten other countries who want to use their oil as a political tool.
The oil firms do not understand a lot of other technologies and tend to buy up competing firms and shut them down. They are interested in growth of revenues, financial performance, and oil only. Currently, oil is power, and they want to keep their power. They only give lip service to creating competition for oil and gas. Consider this: EXXON/MOBIL has approximately $30 BILLION in its daily free cash drawer, but refuses to change its business model to an "ENERGY" company, which they should do, aggressively, for the stock holders. The CEO and executive team of that firm, in particular, are oil guys, and the succession path will always result in an oil person being in charge, and making decisions that control us all.