Hydrogen Vehicles & Technology Review

Honda FCX

Fuel cell vehicles are clearly moving beyond the concept stage. Toyota's FCHV is certified for commercial use by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and several models have now been leased to University of California campuses. Honda's FCX, now considered a limited-production model, is certified for highway use by both CARB and the Environmental Protection Agency. Honda FCX models have already been leased by the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco for daily fleet use.

In recent years, some automakers have been examining hydrogen as a fuel for their internal combustion engine vehicles, as well as fuel cells. BMW, Ford, and Mazda are at the forefront of this effort with concept and demonstration vehicles running on either gaseous or liquefied hydrogen.

Hydrogen vehicles have quite a developmental road ahead of them, so don't expect to see these on the highways in large numbers for some years. Fuel cells, for instance, still face significant developmental issues that include durability and, especially, cost. Operation in extremely cold temperatures is also a hurdle, although Honda has recently made breakthroughs in this area with its latest fuel cell.

Perhaps the greatest challenge for hydrogen vehicles - both fuel cell and internal combustion - is that of infrastructure. Simply, there are only a handful of places in the country where hydrogen vehicles can be fueled. A hydrogen refueling station is extremely expensive at a half-million dollars or more, making the creation of a widespread refueling infrastructure a daunting and expensive task. Still, the infrastructure will come, and innovations like the home hydrogen refueling system being developed by Honda R&D and its developmental partner Plug Power could shorten the timeline considerably if they come to pass.