Honda Begins Operation of New Solar Hydrogen Station

TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Honda today began operation of a next generation solar hydrogen station prototype at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, Inc., intended for ultimate use as a home refueling appliance capable of an overnight refill of fuel cell electric vehicles.

Designed as a single, integrated unit to fit in the user's garage, Honda's next generation Solar Hydrogen Station reduces the size of the system, while producing enough hydrogen (0.5kg) via an 8-hour overnight fill for daily commuting (10,000 miles per year) for a fuel cell electric vehicle.

The previous solar hydrogen station system required both an electrolyzer and a separate compressor unit to create high pressure hydrogen. The compressor was the largest and most expensive component and reduced system efficiency. By creating a new high differential pressure electrolyzer, Honda engineers were able to eliminate the compressor entirely - a world's first for a home use system. This innovation also reduces the size of other key components to make the new station the world's most compact system, while improving system efficiency by more than 25% (value calculated based on simulations) compared to the solar hydrogen station system it replaces.

Compatible with a "Smart Grid" energy system, the Honda Solar Hydrogen Station would enable users to refill their vehicle overnight without the requirement of hydrogen storage, which would lower CO2 emissions by using less expensive off-peak electrical power. During daytime peak power times, the Solar Hydrogen Station can export renewable electricity to the grid, providing a cost benefit to the customer, while remaining energy neutral.

Designed for simple, user-friendly operation, the intuitive system layout enables the user to easily lift and remove the fuel hose, with no hose coiling when the hose is returned to the dispenser unit.

Engineered for an 8-hour, slow fill for overnight refilling of a fuel cell electric vehicle, the home-use Solar Hydrogen Station would replenish the hydrogen for a typical daily driving, meeting the commuting requirements of many drivers. As with the previous generation system, the hydrogen purity from the new station meets the highest SAE (J2719) and ISO (14687) specifications.

Installed at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, the new Solar Hydrogen Station will employ the same 48-panel, 6.0kW solar array that powered the previous system. The array utilizes thin film solar cells composed of copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS) produced by Honda Soltec Co., Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda that was established for the mass production and sales of solar cells capable of efficient renewable electricity generation. Honda's unique solar cells reduce the amount of CO2 generated during production as compared to conventional solar cells.

Designed to support the needs of the future owners of fuel cell electric vehicles, the Honda Solar Hydrogen Station was also designed to complement a public network of fast fill hydrogen stations. The Honda FCX Clarity electric vehicle is fast fill capable and offers an EPA-estimated driving range of 240 miles. With fast fill public stations providing 5-minute fueling time for longer trips, and the opportunity of convenient nighttime slow filling at home using a solar station with a Smart Grid connection, the Honda FCX Clarity can cover a wide range of driving demands from the daily commute to weekend trips.

A key strategy in creating a solar hydrogen station for home-use was to create a new lifestyle with convenient, clean, energy-efficient and sustainable home refueling, by addressing the need for refueling infrastructure that can advance the wider use of fuel cell electric vehicles by consumers.

The combination of a fuel cell electric vehicle and the solar hydrogen station could help lead to the establishment of a hydrogen society based on renewable energy, resulting in a major reduction of CO2 emissions and greater energy sustainability.

Honda began operation of its first Solar Hydrogen Station at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas in 2001:

Honda R&D Americas, Inc. (HRA) is responsible for creating advanced technologies and products in the U.S. that provide new value to Honda and Acura customers. HRA began R&D operations in the U.S. in 1975 with market research activities in California, and has steadily grown its capabilities over the past 35 years to include all aspects of new vehicle design and development, as well as taking a leading role in the advancement of leading-edge safety and environmental technologies.

Today, Honda operates 15 major R&D facilities in the U.S. with more than 1,300 designers, engineers and support personnel engaged in the development of automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment products for North America and global markets.

HRA's major centers include the Los Angeles Center (Torrance, CA), responsible for market research, concept development and styling design; the Ohio Center (Raymond, OH) responsible for complete product development, testing and support of North American supplier development; and a dynamic test facility in Ohio; and the North Carolina Center (Swepsonville, NC) responsible for power equipment R&D.

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This is the kind of energy independance that will ultimately save our republic. We should all be striving for the day when we can produce all the fuel and energy we need right at home. What technology could help bring about true freedom more than one that will enable a family to completely disconnect from the grid?

I suspect energy companies and their special interests will fight against it by getting their paid off politicians to hamstring such technology through over regulation...so as conservatives we should keep a close eye on home hydrogen production and help clear the way for individual energy independance in the future.

Hydrogen fuel exhaust is water vapor. I wonder what liberals will do when they realize water vapor is a much more effective green house gas than CO2? Probably demand that we import all our hydrogen rather than make it ourselves. And solar cells, they absorb the sun’s heat instead of letting it otherwise reflect back into space. So we’ll need an albedo tax. The government can use the money to research other alternative energies, such as pixie dust that doesn’t harm the environment, and you can even smoke it like marijuana. Surely if a liberal can imagine it, it must exist.

We should all be striving for the day when we can produce all the fuel and energy we need right at home.

It's almost the stuff of science-fiction, imagining a world where we no longer think much about our energy production/consumption. It seems like a very real possibility, but someone is going to make sure that we still pay for it. Like the recent talk of road taxes by-the-mile, the government will probably be the first in line...

How about making the hydrogen at home?
This guy is going to marketing his hydrogen fuel supply kit possibly as early as the Spring.

http://www.switch2hydrogen.com/

He also sells some cool scientific equipment and supplies.

He did an interview on Coast To Coast AM about what he is doing with this kit he is going to market to the public.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jekvhj2ciI

I wonder what liberals will do when they realize water vapor is a much more effective green house gas than CO2?

I'm fond of that fact, as well. You must have seen the proposal to put ships in the ocean designed to blow sea water in the air to make clouds to shield us from the sun's rays :-)

Of course, I'm still waiting for an explanation about how CFCs manage to eat only ozone way up in the atmosphere, completely ignoring the ozone at ground level that causes bad-air days :-) (oh, and an explanation about how ice-core samples show flowers used to grow at the North Pole, what caused the glaciers to melt before there were SUVs, etc, etc...)

How about making the hydrogen at home?

That's pretty cool! I've been studying HHO as a possible experiment for one or more of our cars (all of which made it onto the "Cash For Clunkers" list...), but I think burning straight hydrogen is even better. I like the fact that his system keeps the gasoline option, so running out of hydrogen is not really an issue. Thanks for pointing out his site; I'll keep an eye on what else he comes up with!

Etc, etc, etc, etc. The Eocene thermal maximum was the last extreme global warming period that didn’t involve any SUVs at all. How can that be? And there is no real evidence that CFCs are punching holes in the ozone layer. The one over Antarctica has been there since we’ve been able to even measure it. According to the scare tactics a couple decades ago, New England was supposed to have its own ozone hole by now.

I haven’t heard about the proposal to make artificial clouds. Figures, though, that liberals would want to intentionally screw with the ecosystem they say we’re damaging just by breathing. Clouds, however, are not the same as water vapor, they are water droplets. Water vapor is invisible. Clouds actually reflect sunlight back into space, so they do in fact reduce “global warming”. There’s an interesting concept associated with that, however. The hotter the earth gets, the more clouds might form as a result of water vaporizing, and so reflect more sunlight and cool it again. Sort of a Gaia effect, if you know what I mean. I personally don’t think we have to worry about the earth running amok on us no matter what we do. There’s no evidence that we do, anyway.

It seems like a very real possibility, but someone is going to make sure that we still pay for it.

Well, it's quite simple: The system will be a a success once the cost for insterest rates and amortisation are below what you pay your electricity provider (i.e. not only power generation, but also grid maintenance). That will still take some time and even once parity is reached it that doesn't mean everybody will switch at once. But two things are good to know: Hydrogen technology is a.) getting smaller and thus b.) getting cheaper.

7:30 a.m. - time to go to work

Crap! Forgot to plug it in last night.

(Calls work) Yeah I'm going to be a little late today I'm out of fuel, it'll be about 8 hours. See you then.

What do you mean don't bother and that I'm fired???

Crap! Forgot to plug it in last night.

Yeah, that's a hazard. Of course, so is running out of gas on your way to work because you forgot to pay attention to the little gauge with the needle pointing at the "E"; nothing is idiot-proof. However, the impression I get from Honda is that they expect drivers to use the "fast-fill" stations for a complete fill, while the home filler is intended to keep the tank topped-off. It's still the driver's responsibility to keep enough fuel in the tank.

How cool would it be, though, if you filled-up your hydrogen car while you're at work (for 8 hours or more), using daylight when it's provided, rather than trading it to the grid during the day and pulling it back during the night. Maybe your company parking space will now come with it's own hydrogen station :-)

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