Honda Rolls Out Petroleum-Free Fuel Cell Car

Nineteen years in development, the FCX Clarity was designed from scratch as a fuel cell vehicle. Only water is emitted from the tailpipe - no greenhouse gases, no smog or soot or other by-products of burning gasoline.

The 2008 Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell car (Photos courtesy American Honda Motors)

It is powered by a compact, efficient, powerful Honda V Flow fuel cell stack, which Honda Engineering Co., Ltd produces, also in Tochigi.

The car is propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the fuel cell, in combination with a new compact and efficient lithium-ion battery pack and a single hydrogen storage tank. The refueling range is 270 miles. Honda says the fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile.

The four passenger sedan's low-slung appearance is made possible by the innovative layout of the fuel cell power plant, and Honda is emphasizing that the FCX Clarity is fun to drive as well as environmentally responsible.

The first production FCX Clarity rolled off the line just three weeks before the car's debut in front of world leaders attending the Group of Eight summit July 7-9 in Hokkaido Toyako.

A new dedicated fuel cell vehicle assembly line has been established at the Honda Automobile New Model Center in Tochigi. Here the cars will be produced using processes unique to a fuel cell vehicle such as the installation of the fuel cell stack and hydrogen tank.

To manufacture the fuel cells, unique automated equipment was designed to ensure precision quality while enabling mass production of the fuel cells, with several hundred cells required for each fuel cell stack.

At a ceremony today at the Honda Automobile New Model Centre, Honda hosted three of the drivers who will have the first cars and showcased the new production processes.

Dashboard of the Honda FCX Clarity

California drivers will have the FCX Clarity fuel cell car first, even before drivers in Japan. The first five customers, announced Sunday, are the actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest; film producer Ron Yerxa; business owner and car enthusiast Jim Salomon; actress and green advocate Laura Harris; and Jon Spallino, partner and chief financial officer of an Irvine, California engineering and construction firm and the world's first retail customer of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle.

Lease sales are scheduled to begin in July in the United States and this fall in Japan. The combined Japan-U.S. sales plan calls for production of a few dozen units within a year and about 200 units within three years.

American Honda announced that three Southern California dealerships will be the world's first fuel cell automobile dealership network. Power Honda Costa Mesa, Honda of Santa Monica, and Scott Robinson Honda are each located near hydrogen refueling stations and will be well-positioned to support FCX Clarity customers.

"This is an important day in the history of fuel cell vehicle technology and a monumental step closer to the day when fuel cell cars will be part of the mainstream," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda.

"Our customers and dealers share in our vision for a cleaner and more sustainable transportation future, and share in our challenge to embrace a new generation of automotive technology that we think will carry the auto industry and its customers into the future," he said.

The five customers announced today were among the very first people to share with Honda their passion for the environment and interest in the FCX Clarity, dating back to its debut as a concept model at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show.

FCX Clarity filler inlet for hydrogen gas

"Auto companies can't explore the potential for fuel cell technology as the ultimate solution to our world's energy and environmental challenges by ourselves," said Mendel. "Our customers are true pioneers and leaders in the effort to bring fuel cell technology to the marketplace."

One of the reasons for this limited initial release is that in order to drive a fuel cell vehicle, drivers must be able to refuel, but hydrogen fueling stations are not on every corner.

Therefore, only customers living in the Torrance, Santa Monica and Irvine areas will be eligible to take an FCX Clarity home. Honda wants to ensure that FCX Clarity drivers can take their vehicles in for service at the three participating dealers and have convenient access to refueling stations.

The 2008 FCX Clarity is available for lease only, there is no purchase option. Honda says it will lease the cars for $600 per month for 36 months; the total of monthly payments equals $21,600. There is no mileage limitation or excess mileage cost.

Honda is responsible for the development of the world's first fuel cell car, the Honda FCX, to be certified for regular commercial use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board; the first deployment of a fuel cell car with a fleet customer; and the first individual retail customer for a fuel cell vehicle.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.