Honda's Power Plans | Green Energy News

May 12, 2002 – Vol.7 No.7

HONDA’S POWER PLANS.

There’s a rumor out there that Honda has a business plan that, if executed and successful, would eventually put electric utility companies out of business. It’s just a rumor. There’s no proof that the business plan actually exists.

However, fuel cell maker Plug Power has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Honda to collaborate on the development of a combination fuel cell/hydrogen generator for use in homes. The product, if developed, would provide heat, hot water and electricity (cogeneration) plus supply hydrogen for the home-owner’s fuel cell vehicles. The unit would run on natural gas supplied from existing gas pipelines. (The unit would be useful only in homes supplied with natural gas, of course.)

In part, the purpose of the unit would be to accelerate the introduction of fuel cell vehicles. Honda, in essence, would sell the hydrogen infrastructure (the hydrogen fueling/cogeneration unit) as a package deal with a fuel cell car when the car is sold.

Put utilities out of business? Maybe not, but Honda is already a leader in home-sized conventional electric generators and they have been a leader in introducing cutting edge environmentally-friendly automobiles. Why not environmentally-friendly home power too?

(This editor also had a chance to drive a new Honda Civic Hybrid at this year’s NESEA Tour de Sol. The car was superb. And in conversation with the Honda representative another rumor may be started. Honda, he suggested, may eventually include hybrid drive as an option in all of the vehicles it sells. Just a rumor, of course. You didn’t get it from me.)

Visit Honda at http://www.honda.com/ , Honda Civic Hybrid at http://civichybrid.honda.com/ , Plug Power at http://www.plugpower.com/ , NESEA at http://www.nesea.org/ .