17 June 2008 - 10:00
Hydrogeneration
CO2-free motoring just got a step closer, as Honda's first hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity has just rolled off the production line.
The FCX is built around a fuel cell stack that uses the electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to produce electrical energy, with water the only by-product.
We drove a prototype FCX at the start of the year, and we were impressed by the performance and looks.
The problem, of course, is that there are few places in the world to fill up on hydrogen, which is why Honda is initially only offering the FCX on lease in Japan and California.
Honda says it plans to build some 200 FCXs over the next three years, but even if you're living in the right place, you'll struggle to get your hands on one - most, it would seem, are destined for the hands of Hollywood A-listers.
They should be able to afford the meagre £290 per month leasing cost, at least.
Don't expect to see hydrogen production cars in the UK for a while to come, but Honda has promised that a 'more affordable petrol-electric hybrid car' will arrive on these shores next year.
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Honda is not the only hydrogen fuel-cell entrepreneur in the states...... in early 2008, Chevy launched a test fleet of 100 hydrogen-powered Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles....... the fleet hit the streets of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Southern California.
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Well, it seems gooood but there's a cacht. The "H" it's extremly instable, very difficult to transport, ok they can solve this problem, no big deal. The cacht is to obtein ''H'' you have 2 choices. 1 water hydrolisis, that requires a huge consumption of eletric energy, or 2 you can burn long chain "hydrocarbonets" in especial those from fossil origens, in other words petrol. Companies who are investing in this tecnologi are more concern in charge prices for the fuel than to give a real solution for it. Therefore this car is NOT IN A BILLION YEAR an important car is a replacement for oil industries
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fuzz commented on this article
19 March 2009
this tech has been around for awhile.... why is it just now catching on? The 1966 General Motors Electrovan is the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle of record. The GM Electrovan was based on the 1966 GMC Handivan and carried all of the fuel cell parts and hydrogen storage tanks in the back of the van. The 1966 GM Electrovan was powered by a 5 kw Union Carbide fuel cell and the vehicle had a range of 120 miles, though it was only driven on company property. by now, there should be at least 5000 hydrogen fueling stations in the US, not 26.....
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