Honda's
visionary approach to fuel cell vehicles
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The
key to Honda's green future?
Honda is a pretty cool company. Not only does Honda make
some of the most fuel efficient vehicles - fleet wide - in
the industry, they also make some pretty cool jet
airplanes. Even more interesting, however, Honda now makes
next generation solar cells.
Why would an automaker make solar cells?
I'm sure there are many reasons that Honda might make
solar cells, but one interesting reason showed up at the
LA Auto Show.
The Honda
FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle was, by many media
accounts, one of the highlights of the LA Auto Show. A
beautiful, production-ready fuel cell car that achieves
around 275 miles per filling while producing an
approximated equivalent of 68 mpg. Of course, one of the
primary problems with fuel cell vehicles, such as the FCX
or the Chevy
Equinox Fuel Cell Vehicle, is hydrogen, or the lack of
hydrogen filling stations.
Enter the Home Energy Station IV pictured next to the FCX
Clarity above.
The Home Energy Station is a home refueling solution that
uses a home's existing natural gas supply for the
production of hydrogen, while also providing heat and
electricity to a home. According to Honda, "a home
using Home Energy Station IV to help produce heat and
electricity and also to refuel an FCX Clarity can reduce
CO2 emissions by an estimated 30 percent and energy costs
by an estimated 50 percent."
Sounds pretty cool, but it's still probably expensive,
right - even with a 50 percent reduction in energy costs?
Well, what if solar power were added into the equation?
Today, much solar
power is wasted on the typical home because a home
can't store solar power, but what if it could store excess
solar power as hydrogen that could either be converted
back into electricity, or used to fill a fuel cell
vehicle? The convergence of these complimentary
technologies makes each technology more efficient and
cost-effective.
Already Honda is developing prototype solar powered
hydrogen filling stations that might provide excellent
investment opportunities for the next generation of
fueling station operators and convenience stores.
Certainly, there are many obstacles to the hydrogen
highway and fuel cell vehicles, in addition to clean home
energy solutions, such as solar power. However, Honda is
demonstrating that if we converge these technologies into
one solution - if we dare to think a bit differently
regarding energy - the hydrogen economy revolution might
just be closer than otherwise believed.
Isn't it time to kick
start the hydrogen highway?
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