Honda Introduces All-New Fuel Cell Vehicle And Next Generation Home Energy Station

November 14, 2007 – Vol.12 No.34

Honda Introduces All-New Fuel Cell Vehicle And Next Generation Home Energy Station.

The FCX Clarity hydrogen powered vehicle offers improvements to driving range, power, weight and efficiency. The Home Energy Station IV is designed to provide fuel for a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle as well as heat and electricity for a home.

The new fuel cell vehicle utilizes Honda's V Flow stack in combination with a new compact and efficient lithium ion battery pack and a single hydrogen storage tank to power the vehicle's electric drive motor. The fuel cell stack operates as the vehicle's main power source. The lithium ion battery pack is used to supplement power from the fuel cell when needed.

The vertically-oriented, V Flow fuel cell stack achieves an output of 100 kilowatts (kW) versus 86kW in the current Honda FC stack.

Specifics, according to Honda include:

--- a 20-percent increase in fuel economy -- to the approximate equivalent of 68 mpg combined fuel economy (about 2-3 times the fuel economy of a gasoline-powered car, and 1.5 times that of a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, of comparable size and performance);

--- a 30-percent increase in vehicle range -- to 270 miles;

--- a 25-percent improvement in power-to-weight ratio, in part from an approximate 400-pound reduction in the fuel cell powertrain weight, for superior performance and efficiency despite a substantial increase in overall vehicle size;

--- a 45-percent reduction in the size of the fuel cell powertrain -- nearly equivalent, in terms of volume, to a modern gas-electric hybrid powertrain;

--- an advanced new lithium-ion battery pack that is 40 percent lighter and 50 percent smaller than the current-generation FCX's ultra-capacitor; and

--- a single 5,000-psi hydrogen storage tank with 10 percent additional hydrogen capacity than the previous model.

American Honda plans to lease the FCX Clarity to a limited number of retail consumers in Southern California with the first deliveries taking place in summer 2008.

Full details of the lease program will be set closer to launch. Current plans call for a three-year lease term with a price of $600 per month, including maintenance and collision insurance.

The Home Energy Station IV is more compact and efficient, with a lower operating cost than previous models. Compared to the average U.S. consumer's home with grid-supplied electricity and a gasoline-powered car, a home using Home Energy Station IV to help produce heat and electricity and also to refuel an FCX Clarity can reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 30 percent and energy costs by an estimated 50 percent. The unit makes use of a home's existing natural gas supply for production of hydrogen, heat and power(11/14/07)

Links:

American Honda
http://www.honda.com

FCX Clarity site
http://fcx.honda.com

Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: No