Unexpected highs and lows of electric vehicles have forced car makers to come up with other zero-emission technologies. Honda is one of the three automakers announcing a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle. The OEM has revealed some details about its best-selling CR-V model, which will hit roads in late 2025 without compromising driving range and payload capacity.
What We Know So Far
The Honda CR-V e: FCEV will be a compact crossover that will compete against the Toyota Mirai sedan and Hyundai Nexo crossover. This technologically advanced SUV will be a collaborative project of Honda and General Motors’s Fuel Cell System Manufacturing (FCSM). The joint venture has established its facility in Michigan as this fuel-cell EV will be first available in the US only due to the good sales prospects.
2025 Honda CR-V e: FCEV Specifications:
· Available in one trim only: Touring model
· Length: 187.6 inches
· Wheelbase: 106.3
· Battery capacity: 17.7 kWh
· EPA-rated range: 270 miles (including 29 miles of electric range)
· Power: 174HP
· Torque: 229 lb-ft
· Can be charged from residential chargers.
· Battery will have bi-directional charging capability to save on electric bills.
· 4 driving modes: Normal, ECO, Sport, Snow
· 9-inch touchscreen
· 10.2-inch cluster panel
· Apple CarPlay
· Android Auto
· Wireless Phone Charging
· 12-speaker Bose audio system
What is Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology?
This technology combines the benefits of hydrogen fuel cells and electric batteries. Since hydrogen is present in abundance universally, its collection is not an issue. However, its storage requires high pressure and low temperature, which will be a challenge impeding the automakers’ advancement in this project. The best thing about this innovation is that it uses compressed hydrogen in combination with air and produces water vapors as the emission.
The ground-breaking innovation of hydrogen-fuel cell-powered cars is best suited for light vehicles only. Time will decide the success and failure of this innovation, similar to electric vehicles.
With all due respect to the author, the last paragraph clearly indicates a lack of knowledge on the subject matter.
Hydrogen is abundant in the universe, true. However, here on earth, it is always found in nature bonded to other elements because it is so reactive. There is NO hydrogen available on earth in its pure form. It is usually extracted from methane gas but that process produces a lot of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, thus making the extracted hydrogen not very green and defeating its purpose as a “green” energy alternative.
Hydrogen is also made from water through electrolysis but that requires a lot of electricity. However, if the electricity is produced through renewable methods, it can be viable. However, again, a lot of electricity resources will have to be dedicated for that purpose. That is why extracting pure hydrogen is SO expensive.
Another major factor, Hydrogen fueling stations.
Fossil Fuel: can be brought in by refueling trucks. Tried and trusted. Infrastructure well established
Electricity: brought in through the grid. Also very well established
CNG: Natural gas pipelines already in place for easy supply
Hydrogen: No such infrastructure for mass movement of hydrogen exists.
Going with the CNG example. As we all know each CNG station has big cylinders that the stations fill by storing gas from the gas pipelines. Those are then used to fill the vehicles with CNG. Larger commercial vehicles such as busses and trucks which have large capacity CNG cylinders take a lot of gas and drain the CNG storage tanks in the stations very quickly. But that is no problem because there is a ready, continuous supply of gas available from which the station can restock their own gas supply.
How will the Hydrogen be supplied? On average, in the US, a single hydrogen station has the capacity to supply hydrogen to about 60 cars. When that is done, they have to wait for a fresh supply; usually brought in on trucks. Now Imagine if a lot of vehicles are shifted to hydrogen. Will the current hydrogen station model be enough to supply that increase in car numbers? Keep in mind each station is very expensive to establish. And keeping in mind the high cost associated with purifying hydrogen for use, and compressing it in high pressure tanks for use and delivering it in that form to a vehicles internal tank (Much like CNG, but at higher pressures), it will always be a lot more expensive.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are NOT limited to light vehicles. Many countries around the world, USA, UK, Europe, Japan run public hydrogen powered busses and have done so for years. Even large cargo trucks have been run on hydrogen. However, that makes the refueling even more difficult. Larger busses and trucks have larger fuel tanks. Which drain hydrogen from the hydrogen stations faster. That is why such public implementations of this concept have dedicated filling stations only for these larger vehicles.
Since its introduction in 2014, Toyota has managed to sell less than 22000 units of the Toyota Mirai Globally. Honda also had a much less known hydrogen car which it only leased to its customers, not sell. It was the Honda FCX Clarity. It was leased in Japan, US and Europe. From 2008 to 2015, Honda only managed to lease 48 cars total in the one market it was available in the US; southern California. Only 48!
Lastly, the FCEV cars themselves. The other major reason that fuel cell vehicles are out of reach is the high cost of making the fuel cells. They are very complex, requiring human input because fully automating the process is difficult. Also, there are very expensive material used such as platinum, pushing the costs even higher.
From what we can see of the proposed Honda CR-V, it is under powered compared to a similar pure EVs. The range is mediocre at best when compared to similar EVs; and it is based on technology with a very expensive manufacturing process. But let’s says that Honda get the manufacturing done and make the cars in ok numbers. We are still talking about vehicles power by a fuel type that has an almost none existent refueling infrastructure. A killer ‘Achilles heels’ situation.
You can have the best Bose sound system or infotainment screen with Apple and Android and driving modes etc. etc. But if you can’t find fuel to move the car. What it will be, effectively, is an oversized and very expensive paperweight.
Dear author Kenworth truck codenamed T680 FCEV is not a light vehicle. It is a class 8 semi that is capable of pulling around 82,000 pounds. I have inserted a link for your information.
@Ali Khan
Look, I have told you once before that you know nothing about the business world; therefore, do not talk about it.
By the way, Americans know way more about hydrogen than you do, so you need not rant about storage as well. Now be a good being, read, and upgrade your obsolete information.
https://www.kenworth.com/about-us/news/toyota-kenworth-prove-fuel-cell-electric-truck-capabilities-with-successful-completion-of-truck-operations-for-zanzeff-project/
@Khurram
Buddy! It never fails to bring you out of the wood works whenever you feel something your ideal Japanese companies did is being criticized.
So, your come-back is linking an article to a Project by Toyota and Kenworth, ZANZEFF, that ended over a year and a half ago! Here is a link to the end of the project presentation with updates and conclusions.
* https://kentico.portoflosangeles.org/getmedia/755a43f3-007c-4124-95e4-95d3dae5a191/item-4_environmental_carb-zanzeff-amendment-2_presentation
The other organizations and companies which participated and funded this project were, Shell, California Climate Investments, National Renewable Energy Labs etc. (California is the trend setter when it comes to adopting new energy mobility solutions. Thus, this project was funded by the California government.)
The total number of trucks built under the project were 10! This was a project to see the performance of these trucks over a year. The project lasted from August 2021 to August 2022. The trucks, going forward, as pointed out in the final presentation, will “be used in public events and demos”. Yeah…. More proof of concept. And that “Toyota and Kenworth intend to continue working together on future model development”. I.e. Intizar Farmai ye…
The second big take away from this, and what I alluded to in my comment, was that Hydrogen fueling stations are expensive to establish. Under this project that YOU pointed to, Shell established THREE total hydrogen fueling stations in the whole of the US. You can check the presentation for more details.
This whole project was done to show hydrogen’s viability in the cargo sector. The fueling stations specifically built to cater for larger trucks rather than large number of cars. Again, proving the difficulty in providing hydrogen fuel. Either you provided it for cars or for large cargo trucks.
Its an excellent case study and proof of concept that hydrogen has a future in the cargo sector. However, that is where the primary investors and vehicle manufacturers (Toyota and Kenworth) left things. As always, with Toyota, another concept that is going nowhere unfortunately.
There is so much more but I don’t need to go into all the details. It’s your turn to read.
You could have seen all this if you had actually followed your own advice and read up and did a little research to see what the whole story was before just pasting a link and thinking it gave you the opportunity to be belligerent.
However, in your own confrontational and trolling way, you only proved my point. Thanks. 👍