Hydrogen fuel still looking for traction

While all eyes are on electric cars, the hydrogen fuel cell is still being championed by brands like Honda. Kyle Fortunelooks at whether hydrogen still has a place in our motoring future

THE INNOCUOUS looking car I’m driving is one of the reasons that Honda no longer competes in Formula One. It may also be why Honda has yet to produce a replacement for its NSX supercar.

The strangely-named FCX Clarity doesn’t look that special, but it is one of just 35 built – so far at least, as there are plans for 300. Nobody is prepared to say how much the example we’re driving is worth, but it’s sure to include six zeros.

Why? It’s a hydrogen fuel cell car – or in Honda’s opinion, the future. Honda has invested heavily in fuel cell vehicles, and is the first to create a genuine production model. Until very recently the standard industry line has been that fuel cells are still 20 years away.

Honda has beaten that, though calling the FCX a production car is stretching the point, as it’s handbuilt on a dedicated assembly line. That the assembly line exists at all though is credit to Honda’s commitment to fuel cell vehicles.

The Japanese firm is not alone. Honda, along with Daimler AG, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Renault, Nissan and Toyota all signed a letter of understanding last August on electric and fuel cell vehicle development. Within it, 2015 is the intended date for commercialisation of fuel cell cars. Honda’s already done this, albeit on a tiny scale.

John Kingston, a Honda government affairs and environmental manager, describes the FCX Clarity as an “electric vehicle”. Which it is. But unlike other electric vehicles the FCX Clarity generates its own electricity. There’s no cable to plug it in, no big heavy battery pack, and – these are the crucial bits – no range anxiety and no need for long overnight charges. This electric vehicle runs on hydrogen and generates its power via a fuel cell. Emissions? Only water.

If it all sounds too good to be true then you’d be right. Hydrogen might be abundant, but the same isn’t true of filling stations stocking it. Preparing hydrogen for use is very CO2 intensive too. Around 96 per cent of the hydrogen is currently sourced from fossil fuels, so without sustainable sources all it does is bump CO2 production up the supply chain.

Kingston admits that there are issues with hydrogen, but doesn’t see them as insurmountable. He points to sustainable forms of production, via wind, solar and hydro energy, claiming too that hydrogen is a good and relatively easy means of storing energy.

It’s not the only solution though, Kingston says, admitting that the fuel cell vehicle is merely one part of Honda’s suite of green technologies. Naturally these include hybrids and plug-in electric cars as well, with conventional electric cars suited to short, city use, and hybrids – and eventually fuel cells – covering greater distances.

Kingston states: “our future commercial success will be based on Honda’s ability to meet both customer expectations and environmental regulations.”

That’s undeniable, but Honda, and any manufacturer of fuel cells, is faced with the reality of a lack of fuelling infrastructure. There’s certainly talk of a hydrogen fuelling network, but aside from a few notable exceptions (such as a slowly expanding network of hydrogen fuel stations in Germany and California’s hydrogen highway), filling up with hydrogen is all but impossible. It’s a classic Catch 22: a fuelling network required to power the vehicles, yet not enough vehicles to justify a fuelling network. There’s no denying that the FCX Clarity represents an impressive glimpse at a potential future for clean motoring.

However, the cost of production, the need for clean creation of hydrogen and the issue of providing a refuelling network remain huge hurdles that need addressing. The fuel-cell car might be here now, but it seems the infrastructure is the part that’s 20 years away.