HONDA'S H2 PROGRESS

CASE VP Jay Joseph outlines dramatic cost reductions in fuel-cell systems, the move into stationary power, and new models for mobile and residential energy.

Is the long-promised “hydrogen economy” still 15 years away, as it reportedly has been for… more than 15 years? Or is it just around the corner? SAE Media traveled to Honda's U.S. campus in Torrance, California, to see the company's latest progress. This was the introduction of Honda's zero-emission stationary fuel-cell power station, which now is in service as a backup power source for the company's data center.

Honda's FCX was the the world's first production fuel-cell vehicle when it debuted in 2002. Since then the company's hydrogen developments have continued. Honda began collaborating on fuel-cell systems in 2013 and the two OEMs share a fuel-cell manufacturing joint venture. The Torrance event also presented the opportunity to speak with Jay Joseph, Honda's VP of Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electrified (CASE) technologies. Our interview began with a focus on the new fuel-cell power station, which repurposes fuel-cell stacks from Honda Clarity FCVs and has an approximate generating capacity of 500 kW. Highlights of our conversation follow.