Honda UK: Honda joins Clean Energy Partnership with 2 FCX Clarity vehicles

Honda and the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) have announced today that Honda will become the newest member of the CEP programme, providing further impetus to the hydrogen movement in Europe.

CEP is Europe's leading fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen infrastructure demonstration project, bringing together expertise from vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure and energy companies, and the German Government. CEP is designed to prepare the ground for market entry of hydrogen mobility in Europe.

Honda has been running fuel cell electric vehicles on European roads since 2009 and will support CEP activities with 2 FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicles.

Ken Keir, Executive Vice President of Honda Motor Europe said, "Honda firmly believes that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are the ultimate solution in reducing CO2 emissions from road transportation. Participation within CEP with the ground breaking FCX Clarity will demonstrate the viability of fuel cell technology and will also support the essential development of a European hydrogen refuelling infrastructure."

Honda joins the Partnership at the same time as the industrial gas supply company, Air Liquide, demonstrating CEP's value in bringing together vehicle manufacturers and energy companies to support the development of hydrogen based mobility in Europe.

Dr. Klaus Bonhoff, Chairman & Managing Director of NOW GmbH1, remarked: "The CEP is the NIP's2 nucleus for preparing the market for future proof mobility based on hydrogen and fuel cells. The partnership's continuous growth clearly demonstrates the industry's commitment to making zero-emissions mobility possible. We have to cooperate internationally to achieve this, which makes the addition of Air Liquide and Honda to the CEP all the more important. "

Ends


Editors Notes

1 NOW GmbH: National Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology whose mission is to coordinate and manage market preparation programmes for products and applications based on hydrogen, fuel cell and battery electric powertrain technology. NOW is a German state organisation. It is wholly owned by the federal government, represented by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS).
2 NIP: The German National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology, run by Federal Ministry of Transportation

Source;
http://www.hondanews.eu/en/news/index.pmode/modul,detail,0,1828-DEFAULT,21,text,1/index.pmode

Future Tech Watch: Automakers Try To Sell Government On Fuel Cell Cars

Honda's fuel cell electric car, the FCX Clarity, can go about 240 miles on a tank of hydrogen fuel. Compared with gasoline, that's about 60 miles to the gallon. The only emission is water so pure you could drink it.

The company has been building a limited number of these cars since 2005, so Honda was surprised when Secretary of Energy Steven Chu claimed it would take four technological miracles to make fuel cell cars viable in the marketplace.

"Simply put, he's wrong on those points. He has bad advice," Honda's Steve Ellis said at southeast Michigan's sole hydrogen fueling station. "Automakers are not foolish. We're not going to invest in technology that we see as a dead end."

The Clarity costs $600 a month to lease, but if you add in all of Honda's research and development costs, each one is probably worth tens of millions of dollars. Ellis says the costs are coming down, though — from the hydrogen fuel, which is made from natural gas, to the cost of the fuel cells. Producing them in volume will really bring the costs down, he says.

"Ten years ago, if we were looking under this hood, it would be like duct tape and baling wires," he says. "So it was all an engineering exercise. This car, we're handing the keys to customers, saying, 'Here's your car, see you in six months. Nothing to see here folks.' "

But the keys are being given only to people in southern California, where there's a cluster of hydrogen fueling stations, built with the help of state subsidies. Even if Chu changes his mind about the miracles, the price tag remains a problem.

Oliver Hazimeh of the management consulting firm PRTM says battery electric cars like the Volt and the Leaf are getting cheaper faster, which is why batteries are getting the nod from the government.

"By 2015, even five years from now, you will probably get a Nissan Leaf-type vehicle on the battery side for probably $25,000," he says. "That same vehicle in the fuel cell configuration will probably still be $45,000 to $50,000."

But fuel cell proponents say that's not a fair competition. The government spent more on battery electrics in just the past two years than it did on fuel cells over the past decade. James Warner, director of policy at the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, says cutting funding sends the wrong message to car companies developing fuel cell cars like Honda, GM, Toyota, Daimler and Hyundai.

"By all accounts, they are ready to commercialize these vehicles by 2015," he says.

Warner has a bigger worry than less federal funding. Under a continuing budget resolution, Chu has no mandate to spend anything at all on fuel cell technology.

"The secretary if he so chose could end these programs today," he says.

A statement from Chu suggests he is likely to stick with President Obama's proposed budget, which cuts research and development by about half, but eliminates funding for the commercialization of fuel cell cars. That means it could take even longer for people who don't live in southern California to get a hydrogen fuel cell car to drive.

Source;
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/19/135518929/automakers-try-to-sell-government-on-fuel-cell-cars

Honda's 'road to zero emissions'

Honda is very much looking to the future - and a clean one too. It will use the Geneva show to strut its environmental credentials

"Road to Zero Emissions" is the theme of Honda's stand at Geneva, where it will showcase its EV Concept electric vehicle and a platform for mid-sized plug-in hybrids.

The concepts - first unveiled at the LA Auto Show in November 2010 - aim to illustrate the current technology of hybrids, alongside the "near-future" technology of plug-in vehicles and the ultimate goal of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles, such as the company's FCX Clarity.

Both the EV Concept and the plug-in hybrid platform are integral to the "Honda Electric Mobility Network", the company's approach to reducing CO2 emissions through innovative products, energy-management and energy-production technology.

Honda says its EV Concept hints strongly at the direction and styling for its forthcoming production battery electric vehicle, the Fit EV, which will be introduced in the US and Japan in 2012. The EV Concept is designed to meet the daily driving needs of town and city dwellers and has the same five-passenger layout as the Jazz. It will achieve an estimated 100-mile driving range per charge.

The plug-in hybrid platform showcases Honda's next-generation, two-motor hybrid technology set to debut in 2012. Integrated into a mid-size saloon, the plug-in hybrid is aimed at motorists who make short, frequent trips in all-electric mode, but also need long-distance capability.

Source;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motor-shows/geneva-motor-show/8328219/Hondas-road-to-zero-emissions.html

Hydrogen Honda arrives in the UK

With all this talk of the Electric Vehicles, it's nice to take a look at what Honda is pursuing....
Richard Scott takes a look at the Honda Clarity

A fuel cell car claimed to be the world's first to come off a production line has come to the UK.
The Honda FCX Clarity uses hydrogen to generate electricity, which then powers the car.
The carmaker sees it as the future of motoring, insisting hydrogen is better than batteries that need to be very heavy to supply enough electricity.

But it is likely to be many years before the infrastructure is in place to make these cars practical.

As such, Honda's hydrogen car could be seen as a brave move; previous models made by other carmakers in the past, often as derivatives of conventinoal models, have not been put into production.

One of the big problems with electric cars is providing enough power to help a car accelerate up to a decent speed, while at the same time having enough capacity for a decent range.

Honda thinks the future development of batteries is limited, and that they will never be able to satisfy motorists wanting to use their cars for longer journeys.

But there is another way to power an electric car - hydrogen.

The car is still electric, in that it has an electric motor which turns the wheels.

The difference is in how the electricity for that motor is generated.

How it works
In cars with batteries, the electricity comes from the national grid, with owners plugging their cars in.

The gas - stored under pressure in a tank behind the rear seats - flows forward to the fuel cell.
In the Clarity, that sits between the front seats.

In the fuel cell a controlled reaction takes place between hydrogen and oxygen from the atmosphere.

That produces two things: water, which is the waste product and comes out of the exhaust, and electricity that is sent to the electric motor at the front of the car.

'Seismic shift'
The big advantage, according to the car maker, is that hydrogen is a much more efficient store of energy than batteries - so the car can be used just the way you would a petrol or diesel version.
The Clarity, for example, has a top speed of 100mph (160km/h) and a range of 270 miles.

"Ever since the car has been around we've been dependent on fossil fuels," says Professor David Bailey from Coventry University Business School.

"What we need to do is to move on to electric power and in the long term, hydrogen.
"This is the seismic shift in terms of technologies under-pinning how we power our cars."
But he has a warning too.

"There's a long way to go yet because it's expensive, because consumers need to be educated, because the infrastructure needs to be put in place."

Poor infrastructure
Hydrogen tanks can be filled much more quickly than batteries can be charged.

But filling up is still one of the things that are holding them back.

Honda's Clarity is in production in Japan, but is only being leased to customers - often government officials and celebrities - in that country and California.

They have the infrastructure in place for drivers to fill up with hydrogen - but in the UK such facilities are not widespread.

At the moment there are only about 10 places across the UK where you could fill up your hydrogen car.

Honda admits it will be many years before a suitable network exists.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11297952

Whatever happened to Fuel Cell automobiles promised in 2010?

In the past seven or eight years the world’s carmakers have had a few distractions, which have taken up quite a bit of time: new hybrid models; diesels, electric cars — plug-ins, and a couple bankruptcies.

There is a new target introduction date for fuel cells: 2015.

All the major manufacturers have spent billions of dollars, along with the federal government, of course, in fuel cell research and development. There have been significant technological improvements since BMW, General Motors, Ford, Honda and Toyota began road testing prototypes, according to a report in Automotive News:

Automakers have been able to reduce the fuel cell’s size by as much as 50 percent, compared with units they were testing a few years ago. They have also reduced the cost of some of the highest-cost parts, such as platinum.

The fuel cell powertrain consists of four elements:
1) A tank that stores hydrogen.
2) A fuel cell stack that converts by hydrogen and oxygen into heat and water, creating electricity.
3) Lithium ion batteries that store the electricity.
4) A power unit that controls the flow of electricity to the electric motors.

The Automotive News article added, “Unlike a battery-powered vehicle that can take six, seven, eight hours to recharge, a hydrogen refill takes 3.5 minutes. Also, while a battery-powered vehicle has a range of about 100 miles (40 miles on a Chevrolet Volt), depending on conditions, Honda’s Clarity, a mid-sized sedan, can travel 240 miles on hydrogen. GM expects 300 miles for its fuel cell car.”

Automakers say electric vehicles powered by fuel cells compare well with internal combustion engines with calalytic converters:
• More than twice as efficient
• Comparable precious-metal content
• Compare durability
• Compare range — about 300 miles
• Comparable performance
• 60 percent fewer parts
• 90 percent fewer moving parts
• Zero emissions
• Zero petroleum
• Cold and hot weather capability
• Make family-sized vehicles possible
• Fast refueling

The push for fuel cells also is charged by automakers’ realization that hybrid plug-in, hybrid and battery-powered vehicles collectively will be unable to meet stiffer CO2 regulations later this decade, according to the report.

There are still major drawbacks to fuel cell vehicles, however. The present system of producing petroleum products and moving the fuel to the pump is inadequate for fuel cells.

GM is tackling the problem in a partnership in Hawaii with The Gas Co. The utility plans to tap into its 1,000-mile utility pipeline system, separate the hydrogen from the synthetic natural gas and sell the hydrogen to refueling nations in Hawaii. The cost to add hydrogen fueling equipment is expected to be $300,000 to $500,000 per pump.

Safety is the No. 1 issue. Think of millions of cars and trucks running around with hydrogen tanks attached. High-pressure tanks resistant to puncture, along with frames that hold the tanks, will be required.

Anyway, “We will come to the market in 2015,” said Bill Reinert, national manager of advanced vehicles at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.

Charlie Greese, executive director of GM’s global fuel cell activities is equally encouraging.

“Several thousand fuel cell vehicles from GM are conceivable in 2015,” but he will not estimate a price.

I can’t wait!

Source;
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jul/10/whatever-happened-fuel-cell-automobiles-promised-2/

"In our view, the key to winning this race is not declaring a winner until the technology has actually run the race."

John Mendel
Executive Vice President
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
American Honda’s Executive Vice President of Sales John Mendel, along with other business leaders and academics, gathered at The Ohio State University May 3 to discuss ways of reducing gasoline in transportation in a three-day conference called: Moving Ahead 2010. Following are his excerpted remarks.

It’s great to be in Columbus... a real hometown for Honda. Our first U.S. manufacturing operations were established here 30-plus years ago … and we have a major R&D center that creates many of the products we build here.

Both our manufacturing and R&D operations have a strong relationship with our host, Ohio State University. We have partnered with OSU in advanced research … we employ their graduates …and our associates root fanatically for the Buckeyes. So, we’re very happy that this important new event is kicking off here.

And this is a critically important event. The realization of more efficient and sustainable forms of mobility is key to the future of our planet … and to the future of personal transportation for millions of people around the world.

It’s also key to the future of the auto industry. I’ve been a part of the industry for more than 30 years now. And I think I can say that for all automakers … the ability to develop advanced environmental technologies is no longer just a means to gain competitive advantage. The truth is that any manufacturer without these technologies will not long survive. And you can look at the mergers and joint technology ventures in our industry over the past year as proof of this new reality.

This pursuit of sustainable transportation solutions amounts to something of a new race for our business, with many promising technologies vying for the lead and various companies racing to bring these technologies to market.

But in our view this shouldn’t be the kind of race where different companies or technologies are pitted against one another. Rather, we should race with each other toward a common goal … of creating technology that provides the world with greater mobility … while dramatically reducing CO2 emissions and creating a more sustainable energy future for generations to come.

"The effort to promote the virtues of one technology should not result in the demonizing of another" In our view … the key to winning this race is not declaring a winner until the technology has actually run the race. That’s a critical distinction, because the race for a cleaner and more sustainable future is a marathon, not a sprint. It will be decades before any new technology can be called the all-out winner. And while there are a lot of opinions … and even more desires … no one can say with certainty today which technology or combination of technologies will be first to the finish line. The effort to promote the virtues of one technology should not result in the demonizing of another. … or in policymakers laying all of their chips on the technology du jour … rather than promoting fair and open competition among all the players and all promising technologies.

This is a crucial point. Because rushing to select a winner could lead us in the wrong direction … resulting in the loss not only of time and substantial investment of development resources … but, more importantly, the trust of our customers and society.

Regulators and legislators at both the federal and state levels should adopt this perspective. To put the country on a course toward a single technology without fully understanding the implications … including whether consumers will buy it … will put us behind in achieving our objectives. And in the long run will be very costly to boot.

Rather, the critical role of policymakers should be to tell industry what goals must be met … a performance standard if you will … and leave it to the industry to figure out how to get there. To do that, we will vigorously pursue a variety of viable technologies for the near-, mid- and long-term to determine which approaches best meet the multiple challenges of air quality … climate change … and energy sustainability.

Certainly, there is a lot riding on the ability of the auto industry to create a new technology pathway. But it would be wrong to believe that the right path to the future of the automobile rests solely with the automakers. Indeed, real progress can not be achieved without the efforts of energy companies, governments and NGOs. And all of us must keep our focus on the customer.

Automakers can’t just build technologically advanced automobiles. We must make automobiles fully functioning … so people want to buy them … and affordable … so people can buy them.

Government can have tremendous influence on this outcome through regulations and energy policies that foster a marketplace that will remain open to a fair competition among the various technologies. This will allow the marketplace to do its job as the ultimate judge of who wins and who loses.

As a case in point, a little more than ten years since Honda introduced America’s first hybrid vehicle, there are some 26 distinct hybrid models on the market … but they still represent just around 2 percent of the total market. And even this level of penetration has benefited from generous incentives from the government and industry.

The reality is that the price of gasoline is the single greatest influence on the sales of more fuel-efficient vehicles including hybrids. If we can’t convince people to move to a hybrid … which is as fully-functioning and as easy to refuel as an internal combustion engine vehicle … we have to seriously consider what will get them to accept battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles with their myriad limitations including cost, driving range, and re-fueling or recharging issues.

"We must ultimately replace petroleum as the fuel that powers personal transportation." What we do know … is that we must ultimately replace petroleum as the fuel that powers personal transportation. But accomplishing this challenge requires that we focus on two critical needs … a reduction of petroleum use and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. These are related goals in many cases because burning less gasoline reduces CO2 emissions. But the size of that reduction depends on which alternative is adopted and how it is deployed.

Looking at the technology race … will this mean hybrids … plug-in hybrids … biofuel … battery electric vehicles … fuel cell electric vehicles? The answer is … well … “yes.” Because we need to manage short, mid- and long-range demands of society in balance with the evolution of all these technologies. And the reality is that each technology has unique challenges somewhere along that timeline. And even long term solutions require step-by-step progress that must begin today.

So, developing multiple pathways makes more sense than trying to pick tomorrow’s winner today. And by the way, there may well be more than one winner. For instance, we might find that small battery electric vehicles work for commuting … with a fuel cell electric vehicle a better solution for heavier vehicles or for longer trips.

Surely, the internal combustion engine will continue to play a role in personal transportation ... and can be made more efficient. Additionally, bio-fuels represent a great potential alternative to gasoline. But it has to be the right biofuel. The key to the success of biofuels is that we should be able to simply “drop it in” to the existing fleet using the existing infrastructure.

But the drive for bio-ethanol derived from food stocks was a case where prematurely picking a winner may not have made a big contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. And while I realize that it was good business for our nation’s farmers, it actually created a host of unintended problems … and undermined credibility with consumers.

Honda is now working on so-called second-generation biofuels – which means the sustainable production of alcohol-based fuels from plant waste material, instead of edible plants. The potential for algae-derived bio-gasoline is also promising because it would offer the additional merit of not needing to change-over cars to run on ethanol…and avoids new infrastructure costs. But these technologies are a long way from mass production.

One of the best alternative fuel opportunities in our grasp today is natural gas. I don’t suggest this to promote the fact that Honda is the only automaker mass-producing a natural gas vehicle … the Civic GX. Natural gas is an inexpensive, clean burning and abundant domestic fuel. The Civic GX is the cleanest vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine that the EPA has ever certified for everyday use. And natural gas results in 25 percent lower CO2 emissions than gasoline.

However, without a convenient and affordable refueling infrastructure natural gas cannot succeed. It’s an important lesson. When it comes to an alternative fuel … no matter how good the technology … no automaker can go down the path alone.

For the near-term, expanded use of hybrid technology represents the best direction to reduce petroleum use … because hybrids leverage both existing internal combustion engine technology and our existing petroleum refueling infrastructure … and represent a bridge to the next generation of electromotive technologies.

But even with hybrids, cost and affordability must continue to be addressed. As I said earlier, there is a strong correlation between hybrid sales and the price of gasoline which demonstrates that consumers are looking closely at the cost benefit ratio … and many still don’t see the overall benefit.

"Honda's strategy is focused on affordability" That’s why Honda’s strategy is focused on affordability, with the goal to make hybrid technology available and appealing to more people.

We have created a family of hybrid models that meet a variety of needs and interests … high fuel economy … a fun-to-drive sporty coupe … and a mainstream family sedan … with additional plans to introduce hybrid technology to our luxury Acura brand lineup in the coming years.

Looking ahead, what will advance and extend the contribution of hybrid vehicles is the introduction of lithium ion battery technology. But improvements in both the performance and cost of batteries are required. Toward this end, Honda has invested in a joint venture to accelerate our ability to introduce lithium ion batteries in future hybrids.

Plug-in hybrids are also being looked to with increasing interest. Certainly, plug-ins would contribute positively to energy sustainability and energy security concerns. But in some areas plug-ins are actually worse than regular hybrids in reducing CO2 emissions.

Also, the larger battery required for a plug-in hybrid vehicle increases the vehicle weight and cost, reducing overall efficiency, while raising additional concerns about battery durability and cost. These issues diminish the payback for a smaller-sized plug-in hybrid vehicle. I don’t mean to suggest that Honda doesn’t believe in plug-ins … with our focus on original technology, we obviously have a few things in the kitchen. But any near-term alternative energy technology we green light for production must offer promise in reducing CO2 emissions and be affordable and practical for the customer.

Of course, there is renewed excitement about battery electric vehicles. And Honda understands electromotive technologies as well as anyone. Starting in 1997, we leased some 340 Honda EV Plus electric vehicles to customers … primarily in California. We developed the EV Plus from scratch as an electric car and it was the first to use non-lead acid batteries.

Looking at real world electric range … which includes the EPA’s 30 percent downward adjustment … our 1997 EV Plus had superior or at least comparable driving range to most of the models now coming “to market.” Fifteen years later, even with the advent of lithium ion batteries, the cost of the battery remains extremely high … as much as half the cost of the vehicle. So, despite legitimate advancements … the technology and the infrastructure remain significant hurdles to high-volume market appeal.

Battery electric vehicles contribute to energy security and the reduced use of petroleum … but like plug-ins they’re not the best solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions until there are fundamental changes in the nation’s grid. This is a concern shared in other regions of the world. A top executive with a Chinese automaker said just last week that with China deriving 83 percent of its electricity from coal that now is “not the right time to promote pure electric vehicles” in that country.

"Honda is conducting research on a short-distance battery electric vehicle as a 'city commuter car'" There remains hope for the future … and that’s why Honda is conducting research on a short-distance battery electric vehicle as a "city commuter car" – which we see as the practical limit of the technology at the present time. We're now studying the U.S. market with a view to introducing this electric commuter car in the future.

But we continue to believe that a fuel cell electric vehicle is the ultimate solution to reduce CO2 emissions … and meet the real world needs and expectations of consumers. A fuel cell car is a full electric vehicle. But rather than use electricity from the grid, it generates electricity on board.

Among all electromotive technology options fuel cell electric vehicles are about as close to identical to the functionality of existing gasoline-powered automobiles as you can get. As a practical daily driver, the Honda FCX Clarity is a fuel cell electric vehicle with 240 miles driving range … nearly triple that of today’s EVs. And compared to the slow recharging requirements of a battery electric vehicle, the fuel cell electric car can be refilled with hydrogen in minutes. Clarity is also a spacious and comfortable mid-size sedan that has surprised the people who have driven it … including our 15 lease customers in California now driving it on a daily basis.

Importantly, even using natural gas to produce the hydrogen, the Clarity achieves a 62 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. And a 40% reduction versus a battery electric vehicle that uses electricity from the U.S average power grid. For the long-term, we are working on producing hydrogen from renewable sources. One such interesting approach is Honda’s long-term investment to develop a next-generation prototype solar hydrogen station … now operating at our Los Angeles R&D center. This compact system was designed with the idea of daily home refueling of a fuel cell electric vehicle.

Certainly, as with other alternative fuel technologies, fuel cell electric vehicles have challenges to overcome … including a refueling infrastructure and cost reduction. But the full functionality of the vehicle and the potential of a solar hydrogen station are the reasons we view the fuel cell electric vehicle as the ultimate alternative to petroleum … and the best path to reduce CO2 emissions in the long run.

But as I said at the outset … when it comes to alternative fuels, no automaker can be successful without support from energy companies, policymakers and consumers. For fuel cell electric vehicles, there was the promise of a hydrogen highway in California … as well as federal support for fuel cell technology. But this seems to be in constant peril … whether due to the difficult economy or as some new technology comes along. There must be consistent and sustained policy in the near term … to realize the tremendous benefits that fuel cell electric vehicles offer for the long term.

"Policymakers must play an expansive role by defining the goals but not the specific technologies." Policymakers must play an expansive role, not a limiting role … by defining the goals … but not the specific technologies. Government can also contribute through effective energy policies that support both near and longer-tem solutions, and working in partnership with all the key players … while avoiding the temptation to pre-determine the winners and losers before the race has been run.

You know … I realize there is a lot of skepticism about the will and skill of the traditional auto industry to make a real contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions … and to wean America and the world from its dependence on petroleum. After all, we have earned a reputation … as an industry … as being anti anything the government wanted us to do. Years ago, this actually prompted a quote from our founder Mr. Honda that I will paraphrase for you … he said “when the government passes new regulations, some companies hire 50 more lawyers while Honda hires 50 more engineers.”

I know that the industry CAN lead. Air quality advances over the last 40 years have been nothing short of astounding. And I’m proud to say that Honda led the way … or as some have said … showed the way in meeting virtually every low emission vehicle standard established by the federal government and the state of California.

I’m talking about a thousand-fold reduction in hydrocarbon emissions that the entire industry has now achieved … to the point where we have gasoline internal combustion engines that can achieve credit as Partial Zero Emission Vehicles.

I cannot make the case that this success is an indication of what we can do on every issue … but I think it demonstrates what can be accomplished when the industry and policy makers focus on a key objective. And that’s what we must do now.

The challenges we now face are different … but by entering into a race with each other. by focusing on the same finish line … and by making certain our technology solutions meet the needs of our customers … I know we can advance personal mobility … and protect our planet. And that will make winners out of us all.

Thank you for your attention. And enjoy the rest of the conference.

Source;
http://www.hondanews.com/categories/1346/releases/5459

On the road to zero emissions

The number of motor vehicles in the world will triple by 2050 - but carbon dioxide emissions from vehicle exhausts will have to halve in that time. A big ask? Yes, but it must be done, a Japanese motor industry expert tells Rob Maetzig .
When Michio Shinohara sat down to chat with the news media in Auckland last week, one of the first things he did was to bombard the journalists with some rather sobering statistics.

While the world's motor vehicle fleet is currently less than one billion, the trouble is that more than 60 per cent of that fleet is in developed countries.

Big growth is now taking place in the less developed countries including China and India, warned Mr Shinohara, who is the general manager and chief engineer of Honda Motor Company's environment and safety planning office.

This means that the worldwide fleet is expected to rise to 1.3 billion vehicles inside 20 years, and to two billion by 2050 - a massive increase.

But it is generally recognised that for the sake of the world's environment the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from vehicle exhausts will have to be cut by half during that same time, said Mr Shinohara.

"So this means that by 2050 the average fuel economy of the world's cars will have to be one- sixth of what it was in 2000," he told the journalists.

"Only that way will we be able to achieve the aim of reducing CO2 emissions to 51 grams per kilometre," he added.

It didn't take long for the journalists at the function to absorb the significance of that statement. A CO2 reduction to just 51 g/km is an extraordinarily big ask - after all, even the Honda ultra-low emission vehicles of today pour out considerably more than double that amount.

Not only that, but the next super-efficient Honda to go on the New Zealand market, the new Insight petrol-electric hybrid that is scheduled for launch here in August, will average 101 g/km of CO2. So quite obviously there's going to be a tremendous amount of research and development work required over the next few decades.

"It is a very difficult challenge," admitted Mr Shinohara.

"But we must meet that challenge if we are going to reduce fuel consumption to one- sixth of what it is now." Mr Shinohara was in New Zealand to be a keynote speaker at an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority- organised biofuels and electric vehicles conference in Wellington.

He has an impressive CV. A Honda employee since 1982 when he joined the company's research and development arm as a mechanical engineer, he has been heavily involved in the development of new-generation petrol and diesel engines, and more recently in environmental and safety planning.

Now he is an integral part of a Honda initiative the company calls Blue Skies For Our Children, and which is researching a wide variety of means of reducing society's impact on the environment, particularly by the motor vehicle.

The future will see a major shift to what Honda describes as electromotive technology, said Mr Shinohara. This will involve continued development of various means of using electricity - either via petrol-electric technology, hydrogen fuel cells, or pure electricity via the use of battery packs.

And each has its challenges: Hybrids need to be made as affordable as ordinary petrol- powered cars, and their performance characteristics need to continue to be improved.

Fuel cell technology is currently far too expensive, so costs need to be dramatically reduced.

There's also a need for consumers to better understand how this technology works so it can become mainstream.

Battery-powered electric vehicles need to be developed so their performance is better, and their range on a single charge needs to be substantially improved.

Cost is a problem, because the price of even the smallest electric car is currently at least double that of a petrol equivalent. And there are also environmental issues over the need for the power source to be renewable. Mr Shinohara sees the immediate future - from Honda's perspective anyway - as primarily involving hybrid vehicles.

"In the long term it will be electric vehicles, because since they have no emissions there is no pollution. They are also quiet and smooth," he said.

"But it will take a long time and a lot of effort to switch to electric cars. So for the time being it will be petrol-electric hybrid vehicles that will be the mainstream. We see the hybrid as the obvious way to go in our efforts to reduce CO2 emissions." Honda has been producing hybrids since 1999, and so far has sold 488,000 of the vehicles and the sales rate is increasing. The Insight was launched in Japan and the United States last year, and already sales have passed 150,000.

Coming up are CR-Z and Jazz hybrids, and these will be followed by further hybrids, said Mr Shinohara.

"At the moment there are production capacity issues, but these will be overcome. We can expect much larger vehicles within the next two years." Meanwhile, research work will continue with fuel cell and full electric vehicles because they will eventually be the future of motoring, he said.

In fact, the fuel cell could represent the future of family living, Mr Shinohara forecast. One of Honda's research projects involves creation of a home energy station that would put natural gas through a reformer to do everything from supplying the hydrogen for the family fuel cell vehicle, to supplying heat and electricity for the home.

Theoretically, such a process could also use solar energy to meet the same ends, he added.

"We think it is possible to create a society where no such things as power lines will be required.

"Honda dreams such a dream of a sustainable society."

Source;
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/business/3621811/On-the-road-to-zero-emissions

Fuel cell vehicles finish 707-mile demonstration run in Japan

Toyota, Nissan and Honda all participated in a fuel cell demonstration run in Japan last week. The three automakers brought their most advanced hydrogen fuel cell vehicles out for the two-day trip from Tokyo to Fukuoka with an overnight stop in Osaka. The driving teams piloted a Honda FCX Clarity, a Nissan X-Trail FCV and a Toyota Highlander FCHV-adv. Back in 2007, a Toyota FCHV traveled from Osaka to Tokyo on one tank of H2.

Over the course of the trip the three vehicles covered 706.5 miles and consumed 28.8 kg of hydrogen. That works out to an average of 73.6 miles / kg. One kg of hydrogen has roughly the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline, so the mileage works out to about 73-74 mpg.

The drive was organized by the Japan Hydrogen and Fuel cell project. While all three of the automakers are developing plug-in battery electric vehicles, all three also continue to work on fuel cells. Both Toyota and Honda maintain that they feel hydrogen remains the best long term solution for full function vehicles.

Source;

http://green.autoblog.com/2009/11/16/fuel-cell-vehicles-finish-707-mile-demonstration-run-in-japan/

Honda, Citing Battery Limits, Avoids Rush to Plug-Ins

Masaaki Kato, president of Research and Development at Honda Motor Company, stands for a photo in the company's North American headquarters in Torrance, California, on Sept. 12, 2008. Photographer: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg News

By Alan Ohnsman

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co., first to lease hydrogen autos to U.S. drivers, said batteries haven't advanced enough to make rechargeable cars a good replacement for gasoline models and isn't following rivals who plan to sell plug-ins.

"For battery-powered vehicles to become more widespread, more popular in the market, we feel battery technology needs to advance further,'' said Masaaki Kato, president of Honda's research unit, in an interview at the Tokyo-based company's U.S. headquarters. Expectations for plug-ins are big and ``we don't know that that could be sustained right now,'' he said.

Honda is bucking an industry move toward lithium-ion batteries as record-high U.S. fuel prices this year and climate change concerns over carbon dioxide push carmakers to develop alternatives to gasoline power.

General Motors Corp. sparked interest in a new generation of electric cars with its Volt, a sedan due by 2010 that will travel 40 miles solely on lithium-ion batteries before needing a recharge. Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker, and No. 3 Nissan Motor Co. are also readying small electric cars powered only by batteries.

A production version of GM's plug-in Volt is to be shown tomorrow in Detroit.

"GM and Toyota are slugging it out for attention as technology leaders in this area,'' said Phil Gott, a powertrain analyst for market forecaster Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. "Honda doesn't want to get in the middle of that. They've also been fast to market with many technologies, and don't have anything to prove right now.''

'Impossible to Imagine'

Vehicles using lithium-ion power wouldn't satisfy most consumers, since such batteries are costly and still hold less than half the energy of gasoline by weight, Kato said.

"We just don't see it providing the type of driving performance you get with a gasoline-powered vehicle,'' Kato said Sept. 12 in Torrance, California, speaking through a translator.

For example, the Japanese government's advanced battery development program has a goal of boosting energy storage capacity by seven times and cutting cost to 2.5 percent of the current level, said Kato, who is also senior managing director for Japan's second-largest automaker.

"That gives you a pretty clear example of what type of gap we're facing relative to a gasoline vehicle,'' he said. "At this point, I'd say it's impossible to imagine a date at which such a breakthrough could occur.''

Refining Fuel-Cell System

While Honda may offer a plug-in at some point, for now it will continue refining the fuel-cell system in its new hydrogen- powered FCX Clarity sedan, Kato said. Based on advances the company has made with the vehicle, including improving range to 280 miles, ``we believe it's easier than battery innovation,'' Kato said.

Such a choice isn't unusual for Honda, said Michael Omotoso, powertrain analyst for market-research firm J.D. Power & Associates in Troy, Michigan.

"This fits in with their reputation for conservative product decisions,'' Omotoso said. ``They opted not to offer V-8 engines and stayed out of big trucks, and they're doing well this year because they focused more on small cars.''

Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a1gUi10kXBsM

First U.S.-spec Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicles roll off production line

Honda today announced its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the FCX Clarity, started production at the automaker's dedicated fuel cell vehicle factory in Japan. The first five four-seater sedans will be delivered to American VIPs in Southern California in July, with Honda planning on releasing 200 examples Stateside and in Japan over three years. The FCX is the first fuel cell-powered car to be approved for lease in the U.S.

The five California customers include film producer Ron Yerxa, actress and author Jamie Lee Curtis, her film-making husband Christopher Guest, actress Laura Harris and first-gen FCX owner Jon Spallino. The region has three Honda dealers equipped to service the vehicle and three hydrogen filling stations. Honda will study the drivers' driving patterns and the vehicle's performance to learn and improve on the technology in future versions of the car.

The Clarity promises to deliver a 280-mile range and an equivalent gasoline fuel economy of about 74mpg thanks to its lithium ion battery pack that drives an electric motor. Electricity for the battery pack is generated by the fuel cell, with the only by-product being water. Compared to the first-generation car, which was available in Japan only, the new FCX represents a 30 percent increase in range and a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy thanks to a battery pack that is 40 percent smaller and half as heavy.

The FCX's motor is rated at 134 horsepower and 189 lb-ft of torque available instantenously. Customers who wish to lease the FCX will need to meet Honda's requirements (proximity to filling stations and driving habits chief among them) and sign up for a three-year lease at $600 per month.

Source;
http://www.leftlanenews.com/first-us-spec-honda-fcx-clarity-fuel-cell-vehicles-roll-off-production-lines.html