FCX Clarity: Honda's Vision of a Hydrogen Future

Honda invests more money in Research and Development than any other car maker. The benefits of this are best demonstrated by the innovations they've brought to market over the last 50 years.

The FCX Clarity is an axample of what this investment brings to the consumer. Already the most fuel efficient car company on the planet, Honda is also a leader in low emission vehicles.

Following in the footsteps of the Civic CVCC engine and the insight (the first gas/electric hybrid), the Clarity promises to revolutionize the future of transportation.

The FCX is powered by an electric motor (below), but it's the fuel that provides the electricity that is revolutionary. The FCX uses a fuel cell the generate electricity from hydrogen. The only byproduct is clean pure water.

Fuel cells (below) have been around for decades, this technology powered the electrical systens on the Apollo spacecraft that took us to the moon. Designing a system that was light, powerful and compact enough for for mass production took years of development.

It's not as if there are Hydrogen refueling stations on every street corner and this is where Honda's 'out of the box' thinking really shows. Honda's vision is for the production of hydrogen to be decentralized and each household will have thier own Home Energy Station. This system developed with business partner Plug Power takes natural gas and refines it into hydrogen. This fuel is then run through a fuel cell to produce heat, hot water and electricity for the home. The extra hydrogen is compressed and stored to refuel your car.

Honda estimates that incorporating the FCX and Home Energy Station into our lives will reduce our CO2 'footprint' by about 30 percent compared to getting our electricity from the power grid and filling our cars with gasoline. Energy costs could drop by 50 percent.

Inside the FCX, drivers will find a new Bio-Fabric engineered by Honda to provide greater comfort in all climates. This material provides a CO2 reduction of 30% compared to petroleum derived polyester materials.

In the end, the FCX Clarity is revolutionary because it is a true production vehicle. For now, it will only be sold in markets where there is a hydrogen infrastructure, but once the Home Energy Station is available, production could really take off.