Honda FCX Clarity - Hydrogen Powered Car

The styling of the car is fairly restrained,
optimised for aerodynamic efficiency


No exhaust pipe! Just a
vertical gas flow cell structure

Hydrogen Cars Are Here!!!

The Hydrogen Car Explained:

How the FCX Clarity works: According to Honda, the FCX Clarity uses its fuel cell stack as the vehicle's main power source. Hydrogen combines with atmospheric oxygen in the fuel cell stack, where energy from the reaction is converted into electric power used to propel the vehicle.

Additional energy is also generated through the capture of kinetic energy from vehicle braking and deceleration (known as regenerative braking), which is stored along with surplus energy from the fuel cell in the lithium ion battery pack, and is used to supplement power from the fuel cell, when needed. The vehicle's only emission is water.

The new car utilises Honda's V Flow stack in combination with a new compact and efficient lithium ion battery pack and a single hydrogen storage tank to power the vehicle's electric drive motor.

The 'V Flow FC Stack' features an entirely new cell structure that achieves a higher output of 100kW, smaller size and lower weight, with a 50% improvement in output density by volume, and a 67% increase in output density by mass, compared to the previous Honda FC stack.

The new V Flow FC (Vertical Gas Flow Cell Structure) Stack introduces a cell structure in which hydrogen and air flow vertically, and gravity is used to facilitate more efficient drainage of the water byproduct from the electrical generation layer. The result is greater stability in power generation. The new structure also allows flow channel depth to be reduced by 17% - a major contributing factor in creating thinner cells and a more compact stack.

The FCX Clarity's revolutionary V Flow platform packages the powerful Honda V Flow fuel cell stack in the vehicle's center tunnel, between the two front seats. The compact size of the new V Flow FC Stack allows for a more spacious interior which would otherwise be unattainable in a sleek, low-slung sedan.

Honda rightly claims that the FCX Clarity's only emission is water. But there are some CO2 emissions related to the production of hydrogen. These C02 emissions vary by source. Honda says that the well-to-wheel CO2 emissions using hydrogen reformed from natural gas - the most widely used method of production today - are less than half that of a conventional petrol vehicle.

With the production of hydrogen from water by electrolysis, CO2 emissions can be further reduced and ultimately approach zero if the electricity is generated from sustainable sources, such as solar, wind, hydro and wave power.

Source: automobiles.honda.com