Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles offer the dream of zero emissions, rapid refuelling and none of the range anxiety associated with fully electric cars. The stuff of sci-fi? Not quite. Honda has been producing hydrogen fuel cell cars for over a decade and is readying a next generation car with even greater benefits.
The pursuit of a future free of CO2 emissions is a huge challenge but one that Honda continues to embrace. A large part of striving for this goal is the evolution of hydrogen-powered vehicles. At the recent motor show in Los Angeles, Honda revealed the FCV Concept, a next generation car utilising a ‘fuel cell stack’ that will be launched in 2016.
The car of the future – inside the FCX Clarity
As safe as water
The principle behind a fuel cell stack is simple but the benefits are revolutionary. Drawing oxygen from the air and combining it with hydrogen split into positive-charged ions and negatively charged electrons creates electricity to charge an electric motor with a byproduct of nothing more harmful than water.
Hydrogen is abundant and easy to produce and when compressed into liquid form it’s also incredibly convenient to refuel (exactly like petrol or diesel) and provides a range that most electric cars could only dream about.
Power Exporter Concept allows the FCV to act as a mobile power station in times of need
A mobile power station
Honda created and produced the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered car, the FCX Clarity, back in 2008 and it has been available in Los Angeles to lease for a small number of customers ever since. The stunning FCV Concept will replace the Clarity and will also be rolled out across Europe after its launch in 2016.
Its stunning design seats five in comfort thanks to a significantly smaller but more powerful fuel cell stack and it has a range of up to 430 miles. Further benefits to society include an external power-feeding function, effectively making the FCV Concept a mobile power station for areas hit by natural disasters or other unforeseen circumstances.
The most important car
Top Gear’s James May once described the FCX Clarity as ‘the most important car since the car was invented’. When the FCV Concept becomes a reality it will become available to a much wider audience and start to make good on the vast potential of the hydrogen fuel cell.
