Hydrogen Fueled Honda CR-V Launches This Year At More Affordable Prices

The latest generation hydrogen Honda fuel cell system. (Doc. Honda)

JAKARTA - Honda's steps in presenting hydrogen-fueled vehicles have never been dashed despite having had an unfavorable experience with the Clarity sedan, the first Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCEV) production car to be sold globally since 2008.

The infrastructure problem, in particular, hampered Clarity's success at the time, but conditions are now changing.

The latest news is that Honda United States has started production of the latest cars with a hydrogen fuel cell system in collaboration with General Motors.

The hydrogen production announcement schedule is in line with the all-electric Honda Prologue price announcement. These two alternatives are part of a brand initiative to support the zero-emission campaign.

No kidding, Honda is targeting early sales of 2,000 units per year for this new fuel cell system.

The car is a Honda CR-V-based SUV scheduled to launch this year. And if that happens, this car will be the only hydrogen-fueled SUV in the United States.

As reported by CarBuzz, January 27, the vehicle assembly process will be carried out at the Acura NSX assembly plant in Ohio, while production of the latest generation hydrogen fuel cell system will take place at the production facility of the Honda-GM joint venture, the Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC (FCSM), which was founded in 2017 in Brownstown, Michigan. According to this Japanese automotive manufacturer, FCSM has created 80 jobs.

"This is a historic day for the automotive industry because GM and Honda are part of a mass production of hydrogen fuel cells for transportation. More than that, this commitment is in line with our mission to create a high quality, durable, and affordable hydrogen fuel cell system for customers," said Suheb Haq, President of FCSM.

Honda is said to have made improvements in several areas. Now, the company focuses on reducing development and manufacturing costs, which should be able to cope with high selling prices that prevent consumers from buying hydrogen cars.

This is possible by simplifying additional supporting equipment, using general resources, and reducing the expensive use of precious metals.

As a result, this new fuel cell system will be one-third cheaper than the 2019 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, which has been discontinued.

In addition to lower costs, this new technology promises better performance and dual durability compared to previous iterations.

Honda has teamed up with several companies to form a hydrogen ecosystem, including Japan Hydrogen Station Network Joint Company in Japan and FirstElement Fuel in North America. The automotive company is even developing technology to support life in space.

"We brought mass production mindset with attention to detail and focus on high quality, and now we are ready to meet customer needs for fuel cell technology applications and early hydrogen era," concludedatur Suzuki, FCSM Vice President.