Honda and other leading automobile manufacturing companies, energy consultancies and hydrogen fuel suppliers from around the globe met in London this week to sign a £31m (€38.4m) agreement coordinated by the Mayor of London’s Office, to demonstrate and develop infrastructure and technology, which will help fuel cell electric vehicles to become an environmentally friendly and viable option for European motorists in the future. The pioneering deal, dubbed HyFIVE (Hydrogen For Innovative Vehicles) project, is the largest of its kind in Europe. The Japanese automaker is one of five companies who have agreed to deploy a total of 110 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at several European locations and develop new clusters of hydrogen refueling stations.
The automakers who are a part of this project are working on demonstrating and developing hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles. This cutting edge technology uses hydrogen gas combined with oxygen from the atmosphere for generating electric power with no harmful tailpipe emissions – just water vapor. They have the potential to be more than twice as fuel-efficient as traditionally powered vehicles and operate very quietly. The technology enables for rapid re-fuelling times and the potential to cover over 400 miles (600km) before needing to be re-fuelled. The potential for fuel cell electric vehicles to become widely available is now seen as increasingly likely as the infrastructure is being improved and cost of the technology is reducing.
For Honda, the HyFIVE project is a unique opportunity to showcase the advancements that Honda has made relating to fuel cell electric vehicle development and fuel cell technology. The automaker has been leading the deployment and development of fuel-cell technology for nearly 20 years and has undertaken extensive real world testing, making significant advancements in fuel-cell operation and working to meet stringent safety regulations and emissions.
The next generation FCEV of Honda will be introduced in Europe in early 2016 and will follow the FCX Clarity which was introduced in 2008. Currently, it is running in the German Demonstration Project: Clean Energy Partnership since 3 years. This participation allowed Honda to gain valuable information in order to further develop and improve its technology.
Bert De Colvenaer, Executive Director of the FCH JU (Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking), said: With a total of 6 new refueling stations and 110 FCEVs, HyFIVE will symbolize the largest single project of its kind financed by the FCH JU. The high level of technology readiness of this zero emission transport technology will be showcased in 5 European Member States, thus ensuring a broad geographical outreach. Additionally, the project will also contribute to the build-up of the first networks at local levels necessary to support the market launch of the vehicles in the coming years. With the participation of infrastructure providers and leading automobile manufacturing companies, HyFIVE illustrates the commitment from leading industrial players in the EU and the spirit of cooperation that I am convinced will allow the success of these technologies.
Honda’s Fuel Cell Vehicles Key Fuel Cell Milestones:
- 2002
- FCX becomes the first EPA- and CARB-certified fuel-cell vehicle
- FCX becomes the world’s first production fuel-cell vehicle, introduced to the Japan and United States
- 2003
- FCX becomes the first fuel-cell vehicle to start and operate in sub-freezing temperatures
- 2005
- FCX becomes the first fuel-cell vehicle leased to an individual customer
- 2008
- Honda becomes the first automaker to produce and build a dedicated fuel-cell vehicle on dedicated production line.
Honda becomes the first automaker to create a fuel-cell vehicle dealer network
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