Rapidly growing rates of climate change and rising oil prices has led to great strides being taken in the field of alternate energy sources. The development and implementation of solar panels and wind turbines have shown great promise in reducing usage of fossil fuels to produce electricity. Automotive manufacturers had taken it one step further by working towards the development of electric vehicles that would aid the reduction of carbon emissions.
The rollout of EVs has been largely successful, with many cities allowing for the development of infrastructure that supports these kinds of vehicles. Creativity breeds innovation, and now it seems that automakers are not stopping at electric-powered vehicles and thus the hydrogen engine was born. Japanese automaker, Honda, is also throwing its hat into the ring with the development of these hydrogen powered fuel cell engines and aims to enter mass production as soon as 2027.
The H in Honda now stands for hydrogen
The 23rd International Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Expo, recently held in Tokyo, set the stage for Honda to unveil its next-generation fuel cell module. This new fuel cell module is projected to halve production costs, whilst also offering three times the volumetric power density than that of its predecessors.
The company has shared that this new model features a great deal of advancements making it one of the best models yet. Some of the new features and advancements include a “50% cost reduction, doubled durability, and a volumetric power density increase of over 3 times, which increased the flexibility of installation layouts.”
The new model is named the Clarity Fuel Cell and is the first iteration of its kind to be developed solely by Honda. The current model out came about as the result of a collaboration between General Motors (GM) and Honda. The Clarity Fuel Cell has plans for mass production slated for some time in 2027.
A rated output of 150 kilowatts (kW) has been recorded for the Clarity Fuel Cell, in addition to being able to achieve a maximum efficiency of 59.8%, as per information taken from the current developmental specifications.
Furthermore, the fuel cell design boasts an intended measure of “73cm x 58cm x 70cm with a total weight of 250 kilograms, able to operate efficiently in temperatures ranging from -30°C to +60°C.”
The Japanese automaker has recently made its plans to manufacture 300 CR-V public. These new CR-V models will make use of these fuel cell models and will initially only be available in the United States, specifically in the state of California since it is the only state with infrastructure (public hydrogen pumps) capable of supporting this kind of vehicle.
In a statement, the company stated, “By further expanding domains for application of the system and sales regions of this next-generation fuel cell module, Honda is striving to make a greater contribution to the realization of a sustainable, energy-oriented society.”
The field of hydrogen powered engines
Honda is not alone in its pursuit of developing hydrogen powered engines. Toyota, a Japanese automaker and known competitor to Honda, also has a new iteration of its own fuel cell system in development. Toyota has even made claims that this latest iteration is showing a level of dependability that compares with its diesel fueled counterpart engines.
The use of hydrogen as a power source is not unheard of but, for the most part, has not been developed enough for large scale rollouts to the general public. As is the case for Honda, the number one reason for this is a lack of infrastructure to support the use of these kinds of vehicles. However, since manufacturers are making greater strides in the development of these fuel cell systems, cities should definitely consider making investments into developing the necessary infrastructure because the environmental benefits of this system could have a greatly positive impact on climate change.