I'm not really comparing it gas, more to electric cars using modern Li-ion tech. It is still just another method for storing energy, only unlike batteries you have to ship all the byproduct to a smelter in some remote location. If they can show that the catalytic reactor, a sufficient supply of aluminum and the fuel cell is significantly lighter then an equivalent Li-ion battery then maybe we can talk. It also has to make up for the cost (and energy) of collecting all the alumina byproduct and transporting it to a smelter.

My main gripe is the way the journalist try to make this into something it isn't. It isn't some magical way to produce H2 out of thin air, it is just a way to store energy that is very stable and therefore easy to transport.