Honda to make fuel cell cars 10 years earlier than thought

U.S. newspapers report this morning that Honda plans to begin producing a small number of its fuel cell-based FCX vehicles next year for sale in Japan and the U.S.

Honda's FCX wasn't expected to be commercially available for at least another ten years (see Honda to take until 2018 to produce fuel cell cars.) 

The new car is apparently to be put into limited production. 

Honda demonstrated its prototypes yesterday in Washington and commented that it "has hit on a marketable fuel cell package and now can concentrate on improving the availability of hydrogen and reducing the cost of exotic fuel cell components," according to USA Today.

Fueling options are limited today. There is one hydrogen station in the District of Columbia, and only a small number of them in California.

Honda has said it's working with Shell, Chevron, BP and Air Products to develop hydrogen fueling stations that could be used by motorists.

Honda currently has about 20 experimental fuel cell cars on U.S. roads; two are being driven by individuals, who are leasing them for $500 a month. The rest are in fleet service, mainly with state and local governments.

The new FCX, its body recently from earlier prototypes to look sportier and sleeker than the current version, is to have a top speed of 100 mph, a longer range—270 miles, up from 210—and a fuel cell power system that's 400 pounds lighter.

No mention to date has been made of pricing.

Fuel cell vehicle prototypes have been prohibitively expensive to date. Last week, competitor Toyota acknowledged it was encountering problems in ramping its fuel cell efforts up into mass production (see the Cleantech Group's Hydrogen economy bubbling along.)

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