LA 2007 Preview: "Production" Honda FCX to debut
Honda will be taking the wraps off the "production" version of their latest generation FCX at the Los Angeles Auto Show next month. The new fuel cell-powered FCX is based on the concept version that we drove a year ago and will be available to fleets and retail customers in the US and Japan starting in 2008. Initial volumes will be low and it's expected to only be available on a lease basis in places where there is some hydrogen availability such as California. The original FCX in 2003 was the first fuel cell vehicle get full EPA and DOT certification for meeting safety and emissions requirements in the US.
Related:
- Honda FCX concept fuel cell car in depth, Pt. 1 - The new fuel cell stack
- Honda FCX concept fuel cell car in depth, Pt. 2 - Styling and powertrain
- Honda FCX concept fuel cell car in depth, Pt. 3 - Construction and interior
- Honda FCX concept fuel cell car in depth, Pt. 4 - Driving at Laguna Seca
- AutoblogGreen Q&A with Prof. Joan Ogden and Stephen Ellis- Hydrogen efficiency
- AutoblogGreen Q&A with Jon Spallino - World's first retail fuel cell car customer
Gallery: The Honda FCX Concept at Laguna Seca
[Source: Honda]
10/23/2007 - TORRANCE, Calif. -
Honda's next generation hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle will make its world debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, November 14, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today.
Based on the FCX Concept that has impressed journalists at multiple test drive events over the past year, this all-new fuel cell vehicle will be marketed to fleet and retail customers in the U.S. and Japan beginning in 2008. The Los Angeles Auto Show represents the first opportunity for potential U.S. customers to preview the new car.
In an effort to appeal to real world consumers, Honda's recent breakthroughs in fuel cell technology will enable levels of performance, room, comfort, and dynamic styling previously unattainable in a fuel cell car.
As the most advanced expression of the electric vehicle concept, Honda's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle utilizes electricity generated by combining hydrogen and oxygen in a fuel cell stack, and electricity stored in its lithium-ion battery pack to power the vehicle's electric motor. Honda is the first and only automaker with a fuel cell vehicle fully certified to meet all applicable federal government emissions and crash-safety standards. Additionally, Honda is the first and only automaker to lease a fuel cell vehicle to an individual customer with a second customer added in 2007.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Evan 2:42PM (10/24/2007)
Cool car looks like it might be viable other than the not so small problem of a hydrogen distribution network. I am smitten with the looks of it even if it is a four door. However I was under the impression that the production of hydrogen was most efficient thru natural gas. So at this point it is not as emmissions free as one might think. Also just for the sake of curiosity what does hydrogen cost these days per unit to the end retail customer??
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pkuhl 3:00PM (10/24/2007)
This was the car that got me excited about H2 fuel cells... until I read the research on them.
Energy to make it,
Energy to compress it,
Energy to transport it,
Energy lost to convert to electricity,
Skip all that and have far more efficient battery electric cars.
http://www.efcf.com/reports/E17.pdf
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Chris M 2:37AM (10/25/2007)
To answer Evans question: Currently H2 costs about $8 to $10 per Kg, with a Kg being roughly equivalent to a gallon of gasoline. H2 promoters are hoping to get the price down to where driving on H2 will be only a litle more expensive than driving on gasoline. Of course, driving on electric is about 1/5th that cost, but the H2 promoters don't want you to think about that.
This same sleek body design could be used for an EV or PHEV, which would perform much better and be far less expensive to lease or purchase, and to run.
Honda has persuaded two people to lease their first FCX version, I'm certain they can double or maybe even triple that for this new version! (Ok, that is a bit sarcastic, sorry). Will they take them back when the leae expires and crush them all like they did with the Honda EVs? (Sorry, more sarcasm)
I haven't heard if Honda plans to subsidize the fuel like GM is doing for their H2FC project, but I doubt it. Honda did not get as much government H2 research funds ad GM did.
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BlackbirdHighway 7:30AM (10/25/2007)
That $8 a kilo price for hydrogen is only when it is made from natural gas, a process which produces huge amounts of CO2. You are better off just using gasoline, and much better off just running on the natural gas instead. Using that hydrogen is very bad for the environment!
Hydrogen made from electrolysis is much more expensive, about twice the price. This method uses a lot of electricity, which in this country comes mostly from coal, which produces huge amounts of CO2. You are much better off just using gasoline. Using this hydrogen is very bad for the environment!
If you can make hydrogen using electrolysis using only clean electricity from nuclear, solar, wind, or some other clean source, then you are not producing CO2. But hydrogen is so inefficient, that a better use for that electfical power would be to replace other coal supplied power, which would have a much greater reduction in CO2. So even this hydrogen is still bad for the environment.
If all of our electrical pwoer came from clean sources, and we used no coal at all, then you could produce hydrogen cleanly using electrolysis. But your car would go about 4 times farther if you just put that electrical power into a battery instead, and used that to power you car.
They keep telling us that hydrogen is the fuel of the future, but they never explain how to overcome these problems.
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giyad 8:16AM (11/05/2007)
hold on.. how is hydrogen, produced by electrolysis, using only clean energy (solar, wind, water, nuclear, etc...) bad for the environment? The trick is producing hydrogen cheaply and cleanly. Once you do that, it is more efficient to use fuel cells than batteries and also cleaner because disposing of a lithium battery is bad for the environment.
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