2014 Honda FCV Concept

It wasn’t all that long ago that the idea of a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle seemed like a dead-end endeavor. The prospect of a world full of cars that consume hydrogen and emit only water has always ranked right up there with flying cars on the list of things that have always been right around the corner. The technology remained too expensive for public consumption, and when hybrids and EVs began selling huge numbers, it seemed everyone just sort of forgot about it. Except for Honda. 

The Japanese company has arguably more experience than any car company in the world when it comes to hydrogen fuel-cell technology. Way back in 1999, the company introduced it first prototype fuel-cell vehicle, the FCX, and later introduced a limited-run compact hatchback FCX for limited fleet use in the United States and Japan.

In 2008 Honda launched its first pilot program for individual customers with the FCX Clarity in 2008. It was built in limited numbers and offered in parts of Southern California and Japan and Europe, where hydrogen fill-up stations were starting to pop up. Because the FCX Clarity was so expensive to manufacture (rumors suggest as much as $1 million per unit), they were only offered for lease.

The FCX Clarity program ended in early 2014, but now Honda is doubling down with a new hydrogen fuel-cell car, the FCV Concept. As the name implies, it’s just a concept for now, but Honda has committed to launching a road-ready version in 2016 as part of a wider initiative in Southern California and eventually other parts of the world. Honda has also committed to helping expand the state of California’s public hydrogen refueling station network. Heck, I even saw a hydrogen pump at a Shell station in Orange County just last week.

The rest of the body features well-defined creases, the most notable of which runs from the front wheel well and curves downward across the rear door into an air-intake. The front features a very cool looking brushed-aluminum mask framed on either side by LED headlights. The taillights fade into a large, black-tinted panel that sits above a rear diffuser that looks straight off a Le Mans prototype.

The FCV is every bit as futuristic inside as it is on the outside. A dark wood-grain strip adds a bit of class and wraps from door to door across the dashboard. The same wood grain shows up on the center console and doors, the latter is inlaid with metallic horizontal pinstripes. The bottom half of the dash has a polished-aluminum finish, and all five seats and center tunnel are wrapped in smooth white leather.

Smack in the middle of the dash is a large iPad-like touchscreen panel, where drivers can monitor drivetrain functions and presumably access sat-nav and infotainment user interfaces. The center console is spare, and features nifty transmission and parking brake lights that show through the wood grain. The steering wheel is shaped like a hexagon and seems to be missing its top, so expect a rounder, more functional wheel for the production version.

Rather than drawing power from a wall outlet, fuel-cell cars are essentially electric cars that produce electricity using a chemical reaction of oxygen and hydrogen that occurs within a fuel-cell stack. This also eliminates the need for heavy battery packs. Thanks to Honda’s continued development, the FCV’s next-generation fuel-cell stack is both smaller and more efficient.

The smaller stack size — 33 percent smaller than that of the FCX — also presents the potential for the hydrogen-powered drivetrain to be applied to other vehicles in Honda’s range.

Improved efficiency means the stack now produces up to 100 kW, or about 134 horsepower in internal combustion speak. Power density has increased by 60 percent to 3.1 kW/L, and Honda claims a very impressive range of 435 miles between fill-ups — a 60-mile improvement over the Clarity. The trick will be finding a place 435 miles away with a hydrogen refueling station, but if you do, you’ll be able to refill in just three to five minutes.

Hydrogen makes up about 75 percent of the known mass in our universe. You’d think that would make it pretty cheap, but prices for hydrogen fill-ups haven’t really settled like gasoline has. With current technology, it’s estimated to cost about $50 per 300 miles, which is a bit better than your average, modern-day internal-combustion car.

Along with the FCV, Honda introduced the Honda Power Exporter Concept, which is basically a small, portable box on wheels that turns the FCV into a mobile power generator. It provides a 9 kW AC power outlet in the event of a power outage, emergency or an overnight keg party in the desert.