Honda has been road testing fuel cell cars since 1999. In just five years, they have improved autos in leaps and bounds. These autos are starting to sound more and more like they will be a reality in the years to come. In 2003 president Bush had stated that he hoped to have fuel cell cars by 2020. GM said that they could do it by 2010. I cannot tell you when fuel cell cars will be practical and available, but at the moment it looks like Honda is making many significant improvements.
To illustrate how impressive their progress has been, I am going to start by talking about things they were doing just a couple of years ago. In 2002, the 2003 Honda HCX became the first hydrogen powered vehicle to comply with the USEPA and CARB, United States Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board, respectively. Also in 2002, Honda rented out two Honda HCXs making these autos the first commercial uses of a fuel cell vehicle. Since then, things have gotten better. The 2004 model also met these guidelines and was able to put out 80 horsepower.
In the 2005 Honda HCX things are much more impressive. Fuel efficiency improved 20 percent from the 2004 model. That translates into 61 miles per kilogram for city driving as opposed to the 2004 model which got only 51 miles per kilogram (Honda notes that one mile per kg is approximately equal in energy efficiency to one mile per gallon of gas). Peak power rose from 80 horsepower to 106 horsepower, a 33 percent gain.
Honda also implemented a new fuel cell. This fuel cell was able to resolve some serious concerns associated with hydrogen powered cars namely starting at below freezing temperatures. Honda has determined that their cars can start in temperatures as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit. For just a few years it seems that they have compiled quite a substantial list of accomplishments. Most appealing to me, however, are the numbers. Improving fuel efficiency by 20 percent and power output by 33 percent from the 2004 model to the 2005 model is amazing. Although I can’t imagine that it is possible for them to continue making such significant improvements yearly, this is a very impressive start and is making me a believer of the possibilities of hydrogen powered cars.
Although hydrogen powered cars are improving in leaps and bounds, I have found little evidence of similar improvements in producing hydrogen. Supporting a fleet of hydrogen powered cars is going to take a lot of hydrogen. And, unfortunately, the plans for fueling stations proposed by Ford entail using natural gas. While it may be an all around “greener” process, it definitely detracts from its appeal to me. It is tragic that in order to avoid burning gas in cars, they have to burn it outside of cars to supply the cars with fuel. They have made it possible to use electricity but with states like California that are already struggling to produce enough electricity, this doesn’t seem like a very viable option. Nuclear power was suggested as a possible solution, but that creates problems of accessibility. It is a challenging problem but when I look at how quickly hydrogen autos are improving, it seems like this obstacle is sure to fall in the near future.
By David Wade