More Honda Fuel-Cell and Hybrid Cars on the Way

An interesting piece from USA Today’s James R. Healey reports that Honda is going to bring consumer-ready hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to the U.S. next year. The big news is the cars will be almost identical to the FCX concept shown here. Like a few of the current FCX fuel-cell cars, these will be leased to real consumers, likely in California and Washington, D.C., where there are accessible hydrogen pumps.

Even more startling is news that Honda is developing a home fueling station that will use natural gas to produce hydrogen fuel for the vehicles and extra electricity for the home. Honda has already developed a home refueling station for natural-gas cars, but that hasn’t caught on. Hydrogen fuel-cell cars have zero emissions, and the next generation FCX is said to have a range of 270 miles on a full tank, with an equivalent of 68 mpg when compared to gas. Healey got a prototype up to 75 mph on a test track for his story, which backs the company’s claim it’ll hit 100 mph. Joe Wiesenfelder and I have both driven the current FCX, and besides its electric-car-quiet operation it isn’t much different from any low-powered four-cylinder in terms of performance.

Honda says it will bring “many more” of the new FCX cars to the U.S., but because there are currently only two being operated by normal drivers, this could mean a dozen, two dozen or a hundred; we’re not sure. The main goal is to show the cars in real-world applications so automakers can petition the government and energy companies to support a hydrogen infrastructure while they work on making the technology more affordable for customers.

We’ve already heard word on the next Honda hybrid, which will be a mass-market vehicle with goals of up to 100,000 sales a year at a price far less than the current Civic Hybrid. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t reveal much more than that.

What do you think? Is Honda the company to bring hydrogen mainstream, like Toyota did with hybrids?

Honda Will Bring More Fuel Cell Cars to U.S. Next Year (USAToday)

Related
Honda FCX Concept Car From the Los Angeles Auto Show (Cars.com)
Illinois Gets its First Hydrogen Station (KickingTires)
Lean and Green: Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept (KickingTires)
Honda's Next Hybrid (KickingTires)

Comments

Dave,
When you say the equivalent of 68mpg, what do you mean? Do you mean that the cost of fuel will be the equivalent of getting 68mpg using gasoline? Or is it something else, like weight?

all they say (and I fixed the link sorry) is the energy equivalent of 68 mpg. at a cost from between $3-$6 per equivalent gallon=hydrogen.

If the upcoming FCX looks anything like this, it should be renamed "Future 1". When we were young, we've all dreamt of vehicles looking somewhat like this in the future. Now, if only they could fly.

Civic NGV is only available in NY and CA, and I recall that the Phill unit to fill up your tank costs at least $1000 before the tax credit kicks in.

Just what this country doesn't need - a new way to produce emissions with natural gas. A 275 mile range is barely greater than that of the Tesla electric. The idea that this represents some progress with emissions is sheer insanity. Honda needs to ditch the fule cell. It is a very inefficient means of producing energy. If a lot of people start putting more demand on natural gas by using it to fuel their cars, anyone want to guess as to what will happen to those nat gas prices? Remember how ethanol was supposed to sell for less than $1 a gallon? Pure lunacy. I wonder how many times the shysters can fool the American public? So far, there doesn't see to be any limit to American stupidity. Do they count the energy required to produce the hydrogen and then compress it in the costs. Compression normally requires a substantial amount of energy. More emissions from additional electric usage. I saw an analysis
of the total net energy at the wheel by taking 100 units of electricity and sending it either to the home and into the batteries of an electric car or going the other route by producing hydrogen via electrolysis, compressing and sending it to a fuel cel car. The Hydrogen route produced 10 units of electricity at th wheel, while the straight electron route resulted in 70 unirs at the wheel. Hydrogen makes no sense - it would require 4 times the electrical production over an all-electric fleet. Hydrogen is just stupid.

Honda is a clever company and operates in many fields besides automobiles. I have no doubt they will be a leader in FC vehicles.

I do wonder how this particular announcement squares with what they said a few months back.

Roughly: consumer FC production will become practical about 2018 with a projected cost of $84,000. (present day dollars?)

The styling is certainly attractive although nearly horizontal windshields are often nicer to look at than look through.

Ah yes, the incessant Hydrogen detractors hiding under the lies of "higher CO2", and "more emissions" blah.. blah.. blah.. Do they really think Honda is stupid? Note EVERY post against Hydrogen is signed with the "Tesla is best.. and the only way" signature. Seems Martin Eberhard has nothing to do but build a following of leming like deciples to shoot at anything other than Battery Electric and / or Plug In. These idiots fail to recognize that the Honda FCX out next year will be the worlds best electric car... period. Honda has proven and shown many times the FCX offeres over 50% CO2 reduction... even with Natural Gas Steam reforming. And guess what? It gets better than that with renewable electricity! Duh, just like the Plug In proponents promise. What part of this don't you understand? Need battery electric? Sure. Plug in? Bring it on. Hydrogen? Sign me up. YOU Tesla lemmings are the enemy of the good, not Fuel cells and Hydrogen.

I guess I'm one of those Tesla lemmings. How can using a lot of electricity to turn natural gas (which required a lot of energy to process) into hydrogen, then turning the hydrogen into electricity be better than simply storing electric energy in a battery? A series hybrid using a fuel cell would eliminate the problems with plug-in electric vehicles: the limited range, the time to refuel, and the dependence on a fragile infrastructure. Additionally a series hybrid would only require a small (i.e. much cheaper) fuel cell. However when you compare energy consumption, emissions, or cost of operation neither hydrogen, gasoline nor ethanol can compete with a plug in electric.

this looks like a future car?

I thought it was the latest Prius. Is there something about wedges that help alternative fuel vehicles?

how these cars work and help to reduce expendiyure? Do they create less polution ?

these cars have no edmissions

The big problem I have with Hydrogen powered fuel cells in the future is that they will be fueled by hydrogen produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen by using ELECTRICITY from renewables like wind.
Then the hydrogen will be put back together into water in the fuel cell, releasing ELECTRICITY to drive an ELECTRIC VEHICLE!
(A fuel cell vehicle is ELECTRIC!!)

There are huge losses at each step.

Much smarter to just either use the electricity directly or else put it into a battery and pull it out later at a MUCH higher efficiency.