The Future in Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles like the Honda FCX Clarity

Honda first produced the Honda FCX Clarity for its 2008 model year and really displayed the promise of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as consumer vehicles. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have been around for awhile but still have the reputation of being ungainly machines filled with contraptions that make them unable to be a normal persons everyday vehicle.

Advances in Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Honda’s initial release of the FCX Clarity proved these ideas to be no longer relevant in that the Clarity is an upscale sedan with plenty of room for 5 adults as well as cargo room. The production of such hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is also shrouded in mystery and misconceptions. Previously, there were huge costs associated with  any hydrogen fuel cell vehicle’s, that has changed. It is speculated that the first version of the FCX Clarity cost more than $1 million to produce in 2005 and that the production run in 2010 had brought that number down to  between $120,000 and $140,000 per car. This is obviously a tremendous step toward an attainably priced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle for the masses. Who knows how far Honda has come since 2010 as far as refining the technology and the creation process to bring those costs even further down.

Other Hydrogen Vehicles like the Toyota Mirai

The next production run for the Honda FCX Clarity is scheduled for 2015 and they have kept the details under wraps until that unveil of the next generation of the FCX Clarity is officially unveiled. Toyota unveiled their Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle earlier this week and has been working in tandem with Honda for the Japanese government on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The Toyota Mirai will launch next fall, most likely in California and there are plans for a northeastern U.S. release as an infrastructure is established in several states. The Mirai has a range on 300 miles on a singe tank, will cost just under $60,000, and will only take about 5 minutes to refill with hydrogen.

Given that the companies have been working on parallel projects, it can be speculated that the next generation of the Honda FCX Clarity will be a very similar vehicle to the Mirai as far as cost, range and practicality where it will be able to be filled in 5 minutes and comfortably seat 5 adults. It’s an exciting time for alternative fuel vehicles and especially hydrogen fuel cell technologies. Stay tuned for more updates about the FCX Clarity, hopefully it will be better looking than the Mirai!

Let us know what you think about oncoming hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the comments below.

Photo Credit: Honda, Toyota