Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell car test drive

[Manedwolf]

Honda is very good at making prototypes that are polished, finished CARS, not simply partially functional mockups. The Insight was an unfortunate wrong turn, but this looks interesting. Needs more styling, though. This will be leasable on a limited basis as a real car, too.

Before there was even the Clarity name, Honda hosted a group of journalists at the Twin Ring Motegi track last fall in Japan to try firsthand a variety of vehicles with its latest technology.

It did not come without some mandated penance: a morning seminar outlining Honda's sense of environmental obligation. Honda executives chanted about long-standing initiatives aimed at reducing carbon footprints through technology; no matter how hard they tried, the science know-how required for full comprehension was more than my high-school level. I can say this for certain: More than a few in the room left with their minds numb. (That is, except for a few engineering weenies-turned-auto-writers who, after the seminar was over, scampered outside for a postcoital cigarette. There are always a few in the crowd.)

We were then let loose on the hardware. Among the lot were a former-generation fuel-cell vehicle, a new 2.2-liter 50-state diesel coming to the United States and the FCX Clarity in all its eggplant-hued glory.

Inside the FCX Clarity is an amazing amount of room. The fuel stack, which in previous generations was an enormous intrusion to the cockpit, was at the time of our drive a bit larger than a Halliburton briefcase; it fit between driver and passenger in a low center console. There is ample headroom front and back, though with the FCX Clarity's sloping rear design, getting in and out was a bit tricky for oversized passengers.

Put your foot into the drive-by-wire throttle, and away you go. Limited to 80 mph, these electric motors still hauled like no one's business. The track--an oval, as wide as all get-out--allowed a driver to hit the apexes and move well out to the wall. Later, this would be the site of Danica Patrick's first IndyCar win.

It is the speed-and-sound combo that surprises an uninitiated driver most of all. While we've piloted electric cars before, their ability to translate information to the driver is best described as detached. Not so with the FCX Clarity. Yes, it is quiet, but there is a whine that almost seems part of the DNA--though we haven't quite figured out what hydrogen-power fuel-cell vehicles are supposed to feel like.

Weird. But in a futuristic sort of way.

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080616/FREE/570271901/1532/FREE



This I like. This is the fuel gauge. The blue bars are hydrogen, the green bars are charge. That's really easy to understand at one single glance. Excellent user interface design, Honda. Very good.

[HankB]

At first glance, the lines are very Prius-like.

And I don't mean that in a good way.

[Manedwolf]

At first glance, the lines are very Prius-like.

And I don't mean that in a good way.

It's a lot bigger, though.

Also, Honda is doing something else at the same time that nobody had thought of. Big effort to create a hydrogen infrastructure? No problem. Make it at home.

They drew on their knowledge of home LNG generators to make a home hydrogen production/cogeneration/electrical power unit.

The energy from Hondas Home Energy Station uses your homes compressed natural gas utility to produce your vehicle fuel, your home heating and electrical power. This is a potentially huge concept toward the clean, renewable and domestically independent energy our country desperately needs.

Cool. Energy independence by using domestic natural gas for fueling AND electricity generation on a per-home level? Go, freaking GO, Honda! That's just awesome.

Who knows, maybe Honda will be able to help us kick the foreign dependence issue.

[mtnbkr]

how many miles can you go before you have to refuel/recharge it?

Where's the info about the hydrogen generation process?

Chris

[Sergeant Bob]

Honda is definitely moving in the right direction. I'm glad we own one.

[Manedwolf]

how many miles can you go before you have to refuel/recharge it?

Where's the info about the hydrogen generation process?

Chris

It's all on Honda's own page.

http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/drive-fcx-clarity.aspx

City/Highway/Combined     77 / 67 / 72
Driving Range    280

The latter is likely why it's still going to be a limited lease. They want to bump that number to the 500's, I'd think.

As for the home energy generation unit, they're on the Model IV now, shrinking it and reducing its efficiency each time. It appears to be in constant use at their facility, as it's been shown fueling one of these cars in promo videos.

Based on the small size of the unit, I would expect it's a partial oxidation reaction, and the waste heat is used for cogeneration.

In partial oxidation, the methane and other hydrocarbons in natural gas are reacted with a limited amount of oxygen (typically, from air) that is not enough to completely oxidize the hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water. With less than the stoichiometric amount of oxygen available for the reaction, the reaction products contain primarily hydrogen and carbon monoxide (and nitrogen, if the reaction is carried out with air rather than pure oxygen), and a relatively small amount of carbon dioxide and other compounds. Subsequently, in a water-gas shift reaction, the carbon monoxide reacts with water to form carbon dioxide and more hydrogen.

Partial oxidation is an exothermic process - it gives off heat. It is, typically, a much faster process than steam reforming and requires a smaller reactor vessel.

[The Annoyed Man]

At first glance, the lines are very Prius-like.

And I don't mean that in a good way.

Translation:  It's waaayyyy more aerodynamically efficient than any bigazz SUV. 

[mtnbkr]

Yeah, found some info shortly after posting.

Range is too short for me personally to consider as anything other than a local trip vehicle.  I put upwards of 450 miles per week on my car (wife does another 200+ on her vehicle).  If my personal hydrogen station is the only one around, I can only go as far as half a tank (less actually to maintain a safety buffer).  Day to day driving is no problem, but I couldn't take it on a trip  to visit family, any of my family until the max range hits the high 500s or refueling opportunities increase. 

I'm also not crazy about using petro products to create the fuel.  Seems like we're just shuffling things around.  However, nothing says you can't create the hydrogen using other techniques, this is just the easiest to implement today.

Bears watching...

Chris

[Manedwolf]

I'm also not crazy about using petro products to create the fuel.  Seems like we're just shuffling things around.  However, nothing says you can't create the hydrogen using other techniques, this is just the easiest to implement today.

The difference is that we have a LOT of natural gas in the US and would not need to import it if we drilled everywhere. That, and there's hundreds of years worth of methane hydrates on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm also not crazy about using petro products to create the fuel.  Seems like we're just shuffling things around.

That's what I was thinking.  How much energy does it take and how much pollution is made in the production of hydrogen?

[Manedwolf]

I'm also not crazy about using petro products to create the fuel.  Seems like we're just shuffling things around.

That's what I was thinking.  How much energy does it take and how much pollution is made in the production of hydrogen?

It takes natural gas, and that doesn't produce much CO. Or it can be made via electrolysis of seawater. In which case, we build more reactors. Zero emission.

[The Annoyed Man]

That sounds like a winner.  The challenge will be to get Big Oil out of the way, IOW .gov needs to get behind hydrogen.  Arnold was blathering about the 'Hydrogen Highway' awhile back, but I don't know the details.

[Brad Johnson]

Too bad it looks like a pregnant roller skate.

Brad

[Racehorse]

As for the home energy generation unit, they're on the Model IV now, shrinking it and reducing its efficiency each time. It appears to be in constant use at their facility, as it's been shown fueling one of these cars in promo videos.

Yes, it's the goal of every engineer--reducing efficiency.

I know what you meant, though.

[Sergeant Bob]

I'm also not crazy about using petro products to create the fuel.  Seems like we're just shuffling things around.  However, nothing says you can't create the hydrogen using other techniques, this is just the easiest to implement today.

The difference is that we have a LOT of natural gas in the US and would not need to import it if we drilled everywhere. That, and there's hundreds of years worth of methane hydrates on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.

And there would be a lot more NG available if we switched to nuke power. As for the methane hydrates, there is a research well and station on Ice Road Truckers.

[Tallpine]

Next, they need to make a fuel cell powered 4 wheel drive pickup that can pull a gooseneck horse trailer

[41magsnub]

Next, they need to make a fuel cell powered 4 wheel drive pickup that can pull a gooseneck horse trailer

The problem is the trailer will be completely full of fuel cells.   

[Nitrogen]

The Model T had on average 20 hp. They got about 15mpg. Obviously, we've come a long way since then.

I'm sure we'll figure this stuff out as things go.  Look at hybrids.  Granted, a dead end, lame, technology, but just in the 5 years or so we've been making them, the've gotten better and better.  Better batteries, plug-in kits, etc.

We used to think we couldn't go faster than the speed of sound, and we figured that out.  I'm sure we can figure out how to get ~300 miles on an "average sized" tank of hydrogen, too.

[anygunanywhere]

To produce one cubic foot of hydrogen from natural gas with no net energy loss requires 324 btu whether you use partial oxidation or steam methane reforming. Both processes produce CO₂. Natural gas is methane - CH₄.

Producing one cubic foot of hydrogen from seawater requires approximately the same energy, though electric power is typically expressed in watts. 324 btu = approx 94 watt/hr.

If you burn hydrogen you produce only 324 btu for each cubic foot burned. High school chemistry told us that you can not create energy, only change form. Using hydrogen for fuel requires large amounts of hydrogen since the btu release is small. One horsepower/hour = 2544 btu.

When producing hydrogen from water unless your source of electricity is from non-fossil fuel source you create CO₂ emissions. Nuclear power (fission) pollutes because producing fission reactor fuel produces enormous quantities of CO₂.

THe only way to produce electricity and hydrogen CO₂ free on a grand scale is with fusion reactors, and that ain't happening anytime soon.

[Gewehr98]

That's all well and good, but one forgets what these guys are doing to extract hydrogen from biomass via Aqueous Phase Reforming:

http://www.virent.com/

[wmenorr67]

Too bad it looks like a pregnant roller skate.

Brad

No that would have been a Pacer.

[mfree]

I kind of like the looks, it's much sleeker than the prius.

I'd have one, just scrap the hydrogen and give me the 2.2CDI drivetrain they sell in Europe

[Firethorn]

Nuclear power (fission) pollutes because producing fission reactor fuel produces enormous quantities of CO₂.

While producing a pound of uranium isn't a clean process by default, I'll admit, isn't the CO2 insignficant once you figure the amount of power you're going to produce from said fuel?

It would help if we had breeder reactors, recycled waste, or had more reactors that take unenriched uranium

By the same token Wind isn't CO2 free either - you have the CO2 from producing the concrete pad to put the tower in, the CO2 from producing the tower, construction vehicles and all that.

Energy Balances and CO2 Implications - Scroll down to see the table of CO2 outputs by power type.

I'll also note that we can, if we so choose, drop that even more for nuclear power.  For example, suppose that rather than using coal power for various refining tasks we went ahead and used nuclear power instead?

As for the car, it's neat, but my concern is cost - are the fuel cells approaching anything near 'affordable'?  Last I'd heard, NG fuel cells weren't quite as efficient, but the energy gain from going to CNG as you don't need the reformer and storage is much simpler outweighed the loss of efficiency.  Of course, in this case the waste heat is being put to good use.

Then again, I could put the CNG directly into a car, and especially during the summertime use the sun to heat my water.

edit - lost part of a sentence in there ?:

[xavier fremboe]

How much smug does it produce?

[Jamisjockey]

Next, they need to make a fuel cell powered 4 wheel drive pickup that can pull a gooseneck horse trailer

Or a 23' boat 

How much smug does it produce?

Lots of smug!  If you think pious owners are smug....wait till this thing hits the market....