Honda Develops New Solar-Powered Hydrogen Fueling Station

If you drive a fuel-cell vehicle, for example the Honda FCX Clarity , you’ll need easy access to hydrogen in order to refill the car each morning. Since there aren’t (yet) too many places where you can fill ‘er up with H2, Honda has developed a solar-powered home filling station that can partially refuel fuel-cell vehicles overnight. The device is designed for installation in a home garage and is shown here at Honda’s R&D center in L.A. Honda says the new model is about 25 percent more efficient than previous home filling stations. Overnight, the charger takes power from the electricity grid to run a device that separates water into compressed hydrogen fuel. During the day (when it’s presumably sunny), a 6-kW solar panel pushes electricity back to the utility grid, offsetting the power used at night. While

the actual hydrogen creation is not solar-powered, Honda says the electricity used is essentially “free” because it is offset by selling renewable energy back to the utility grid during daylight hours. And that makes the charger essentially carbon-neutral. An eight-hour overnight fill is enough to produce 1.1 pounds of compressed hydrogen, which Honda says is enough to keep a fuel-cell vehicle topped up for daily commuting. The FCX’s hydrogen tank can hold 9.0 pounds of compressed hydrogen. Back in 2008, we learned how to refuel a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle at a commercial station. Related posts: 2009 FCX Clarity: Honda Mixes Hydrogen With Hollywood Pump It Up: We Refuel a Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle 2008 Chevrolet Equinox Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle – First Drive Review

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Honda Develops New Solar-Powered Hydrogen Fueling Station