Honda’s Solar Power Charging Station
for its FCX Clarity Fuel Cell Car
Honda has unveiled a solar-powered hydrogen station for use by drivers at home
which can produce enough fuel to power its FCX Clarity fuel cell car for 25 miles of driving
each day. Honda’s website boasts that its new FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle has twice the
driving energy efficiency of a standard compact hybrid-electric vehicle and three times the
efficiency of a compact internal combustion engine vehicle fueled solely by gasoline.
Hydrogen can be used as a
fuel for electric cars, thereby
doing away with the need for a
battery — these so-called fuel
cell vehicles can travel longer distances than electric vehicles that
need to be re-charged directly from a mains supply.
Honda’s solar hydrogen station is the smallest of its kind and
could be incorporated into the design of a garage. A spokesperson
for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “At present,
there is no refueling infrastructure for hydrogen so personal
generators could be part of the answer.” The Solar Hydrogen Station
is able to export any excess electricity to the national grid.
Author’s comment:The sleek design of the solar charging
station is impressive, but it appears that integrating it into a typical
garage setting will require changing its esthetics to accommodate
more standard roof solar panels.
Credit http://fuelcell.magasite.net and Honda Motor Corporation.
to emerge very soon and your next
car will [hopefully] be up to the task
with electric motors that replace the
internal combustion engine that are
powered by batteries or fuel cells, or
maybe a combination of both.
On a side note, due mainly to
my time constraints, future articles
in this series will appear bi-monthly.
This will give me more time to
research the vast amount of
alternative energy topics that emerge
daily and put them in a form that’s
adaptable to electronics and
programming. I have a few articles in
mind already and more that show
promise. So, until next
time … conserve energy
and “stay green.” NV
Trademarks
• ZigBee is a registered
trademark of the ZigBee
Alliance.
• XBEE is a registered
trademark of Digi
International.
• OnStar is a registered
trademark of General
Motors Corporation.
• FordSYNC is a registered
trademark of Ford Motor
Company.
Figure 15.
Telematics Solar
Car Test Run.
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July 2010 43
