Honda FCX Clarity Fuel Cell Powers Japanese House For Six Days

While many new plug-ins boast the convenience and simplicity of recharging the car battery from a household wall socket, how many vehicles can claim to provide the opposite?

Honda has installed an inverter in the trunk of one special FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, providing output power that could supply up to 8 kilowatts of electricity for more than seven hours from a full tank of hydrogen — a figure that is supposedly enough to power the average Japanese home for six days. This particular FCX has been delivered to the Saitama Prefecture government, which was also an early-adopter of a solar-powered hydrogen station.

Concerns over power shortages have heightened since last year’s natural disaster and the subsequent nuclear plant shutdown, causing a spike in interest for electric vehicles that may double as emergency power suppliers for homes. Last year, Nissan demonstrated its Leaf-to-Home, which claimed the power output could generate enough to sustain an average household for two days. Unlike fuel cells, an electric battery can only store electricity rather than generate it, resulting in a less flexible application when compared to fuel-cell technology.

Source;
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2012/03/honda-fcx-clarity-fuel-cell-powers-japanese-house-for-six-days.html

Honda Introduces Solar Hydrogen Station on Saitama Prefectural Office Grounds

FCX Clarity Used in Electric Vehicle Testing Program to Serve as Mobile Electric Generator

TOKYO, Japan, March 27, 2012 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. unveiled a Solar Hydrogen Station on the grounds of the Saitama Prefectural Office. The initiative is part of the Electric Vehicle Testing Program for Honda’s next-generation personal mobility products with Saitama Prefecture, in which Honda, Iwatani and Saitama Prefecture collaborate to build. In a further initiative, Honda has equipped the FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle with an outlet to function as a 9kW power source. Since the FCX Clarity uses a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to produce power with zero CO2 emissions, with its new outlet, the vehicle will be able to serve as a zero-emission mobile electric generator.

This is the first installation in Japan of a total system to produce, store and dispense hydrogen with ZERO CO2 emissions. A high pressure water electrolysis system, uniquely developed by Honda, produces hydrogen. With no mechanical compressor, the system is nearly silent and highly energy efficient. Using Solar and grid power, the system is capable of producing 1.5kg of hydrogen within 24 hours which enables an FCX Clarity to run approximately 150km or 90 miles. Honda aims to further develop the system to offer clean energy sources for the home in the future.

Source;

http://world.honda.com/news/2012/4120327Solar-Hydrogen-Station/index.html

Honda FCX Clarity fuel-cell car shown off

Honda has announced that it will be showing off what it claims is the world's first production fuel-cell car, the FCX Clarity, at the EcoVelocity show next month.



The FCX Clarity is designed to use hydrogen fuel cells as its power source, offering far greater performance than a traditional all-electric vehicle while maintaining the same zero harmful emission baseline.



While fuel-cell cars are nothing new, they've never made it to a production model before - and Honda claims that's exactly what it will be showing off at the EcoVelocity event, held between the 8th and the 11th of September at the Battersea Power Station.



The company is keeping full details of the Clarity's specifications under wraps until the show starts, but has explained that the vehicle offers an impressive 270-mile range per fill, is capable of topping up its hydrogen reserves as easily as a petrol or diesel car can refuel, and has water vapour as its only emission.



It's also keen to point out that the Clarity isn't an experiment, or a concept car, but a fully-certified road-legal vehicle built at the same factory as Honda's other models..



The company will also be showing off a redesigned five-door Insight, the CR-Z sporty hybrid, and a hybrid edition of the popular Jazz that extends its fuel economy to an impressive 64.2mpg - a 23 per cent improvement over the standard Jazz edition.



Author: Gareth Halfacree



Source;

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/car-tech/1286842/honda-fcx-clarity-fuel-cell-car-shown-off