Fuel cells on sale soon in USA

Honda is preparing to bring the first production fuel cell vehicle to market. Named the FCX Clarity, the new Honda is powered by a fuel cell which generates electricity from a hydrogen fuel source.

The new car won't be coming to Australia in the short term, if ever.

According to Honda's local PR manager, Mark Higgins: "We won't have it in Australia for many years to come. The FCX is going on sale -- it's not really on sale, it's like a lease-type arrangement -- in California next year."

So it makes sense to preview the new car at the motor show in the largest city in California, Los Angeles.

California has long placed a heavy emphasis on reducing vehicle emissions and has led the American market in the adoption of Ultra-low and Zero-emission vehicle legislation. It's Californian legislation that has forced manufacturers to develop after-exhaust treatments for diesels, as in the case of the Audi Cross Cabriolet quattro (more here).

By being a fuel cell vehicle, the FCX Clarity consumes hydrogen, a lighter-than-air gas which bonds with oxygen to produce water vapour. Hydrogen, as a fuel source for the FCX is thus a very clean fuel and the Honda's only emission is water vapour -- without CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions that are contributing to greenhouse gas-based climate change.

Deliveries of the new car will commence in Southern California and customers will enter into a three-year lease arrangement costing $600 per month.

The electric drive system produces 100kW of power and 256Nm of torque and the electric charge is generated by a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) stack. The hydrogen fuel, which produces the electricity when converting to water is stored in a high-pressure tank of 171 litres volume. A lithium-ion battery stores the eletric charge once produced.

The FCX Clarity also relies on 'true' regenerative braking to scavenge kinetic energy to supplement the electrical energy stored in the battery.

Honda claims that hydrogen consumption would be approximately equivalent to 3.5lt/100km (68 miles/USgal) and the FCX Clarity has a range of up to 270 miles (430km). Building on the company's 'green' credentials, Honda has trimmed the interior of the FCX Clarity in Bio-Fabric, produced from plant-based material and also under consideration for production by Mazda (more here).

Honda is also establishing the home-based infrastructure to support private operators of the FCX Clarity, by offering a 'Home Energy Station'.

In the experimental stage so far, the system will draw on domestic natural gas to create the hydrogen necessary to resupply the car. Even with the CO2 emissions from the production of hydrogen from natural gas, Honda claims nett CO2 emissions will be reduced by up to 30 per cent and can also reduce domestic electricity bills by up to 50 per cent for the home.

To comment on this article click here