Zero-emission Honda hits the road in Japan

Honda has delivered its first FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car to Japan's Ministry of the Environment. It's the first of 200 vehicles the company wants to lease out to government and corporate customers in the US and Japan over the next three years.

The four-seater FCX Clarity's electric motor draws its power from Honda's V Flow fuel cell stack. The fuel cell generates electricity by combining hydrogen with oxygen, emitting nothing but water vapour in the process.

Honda claims twice the energy efficiency of a petrol-electric hybrid and three times that of a standalone petrol engine.

The vehicle reached viability with a breakthrough in the design of the fuel cell stack, allowing engineers to pare down body weight and expand the interior while boosting operating efficiency.

Launched in the US in July 2008, the FCX Clarity was the first hydrogen car certified for regular commercial use by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Asked about the possibility of its arrival in Australia in the near future, Honda Australia's Senior Director Lindsay Smalley said that at this point it's some way off. "The lack of infrastructure in this country is the biggest hurdle," he said.