BBC - Hydrogen Honda arrives in the UK by Richard Scott
14 September 2010
The Honda FCX Clarity is one of the first hydrogen fueled cars to come off the production line which has just landed in the UK. This car is one of the cleanest ways of transport out today, and it all works because of the fuel cells. This car is even better than electric powered cars as it does not have to carry a heavy battery to store enough electricity to travel. Battery powered cars struggle to hold enough electricity to travel long distances and takes a while to charge. So Honda has moved on from electric powered cars as they see no future in it, so they have moved to hydrogen to make electricity to power the car. This is a simple process, the hydrogen which is a compressed gas is stored in a tank, the hydrogen is released and has a reaction with oxygen from the atmosphere having two products, water and electricity. The water is the waste product and electricity is moved to the engine at the front of the car. This way of powering a car is more efficient than holding electricity in a battery as the electricity is created on board the vehicle. This allows the car to run just as well a petrol or diesel powered car would. However the infrastructure is not in place yet to supply hydrogen to the owners of these cars. This is a big problem in the UK as it as there is only ten places across the UK where you can fill up. Honda sees this issue and expects it to be the same over the next couple of years.
I find this car the way of the future as it has over come several problems that the car industry is facing. The issues of gas prices going up and polluting the atmosphere and the ability to store only so much electricity in a battery. This new technology is something that would have been a risk to take out on to the market, but Honda has done it and has done it well. The infrastructure may not be in place to support this vehicle but personally I can see it coming around the conner to support this. This shows that there are people who are looking out for the future and are coming up with more suitable and sustainable ways for it.
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