In the summer of 1888, Bertha Benz (yes, that Benz) became the first person to take an automobile

on a long distance road trip.

She also became the first person to have their car run out of fuel.

If her steed were a horse, she'd have been able to stop at any of the stables that peppered

the landscape to get oats or hay.

But she needed car fuel, and the gas station hadn't yet been invented.

Fortunately, pharmacies of the era sold a petroleum product called ligroin – a common

stain remover that also happened to be the fuel source for Bertha's car – so she

visited a pharmacy and was able to finish her journey.

And as automobiles spread - in part due to the efforts of Bertha and her husband Karl

Benz - pharmacies and other stores began selling ligroin and other petroleum-based fuels to

car drivers in larger and larger quantities, and in the early 1900s, the world's first

dedicated gasoline stations were built.

Today, gas stations pepper the landscape and make it possible for over a billion of us

to drive our cars long distances with little fear of running out of fuel.

And while horse stables still exist, they mostly support recreational riding and niche

professions where horses are still really useful; in general, horse power has been replaced

by “horsepower”.

But there's no reason for that horsepower to come only from cars burning fuel.

There are automobiles powered by electric batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and even compressed

air.

Among these non-gas alternatives, electric cars are the most dominant, with charging

stations popping up all over.

It's not hard to imagine that at some point in the near future, electric cars - or vehicles

powered by a different fuel - take over, and gas stations go the way of the stable, with

people only visiting them for recreational rides.

But don't eulogize the gas station just yet.

Only 1 of every 200 cars on the road today is electric and 1 of every 40 new cars purchased

is electric, although that rate is increasing.

Given how rarely people buy cars, though, it's projected that it might take 20 years

before even a quarter of the cars on the road are electric.

And when (or if) a full transition to non-petroleum fuels arrives, gas stations may still be at

the center of it all.

A hundred years ago, lots of stables ended up getting converted into dealerships and

repair shops for the new type of carriage.

In the same way, our gas stations may simply get converted into stations for selling new

types of fuel.

In other words, the future of gas stations may be quite stable.

This video was made in partnership with Bill Gates, who, through Breakthrough Energy, is

working to expand clean-energy investment and support the innovations that will lead

the world to net-zero carbon emissions.

To learn more, visit: GatesNotes.com or click the link in the description.