Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will build a Solar Hydrogen Station on the grounds of the Saitama Prefectural Office and introduce an electric-power-outlet-equipped FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle within the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012. The initiative is part of the Electric Vehicle Testing Program for Honda’s next-generation personal mobility products, in which Honda and Saitama Prefecture are currently collaborating.
Honda will equip the FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle with an outlet to function as a 10 kW or higher power source, the approximate equivalent of the power required by 2 households (assuming an average household uses approximately 5 kW of electricity). With its new outlet, the vehicle will be able to serve as a zero-emission mobile electric generator.
In March 2009, Honda and Saitama Prefecture concluded an agreement to collaborate on environmental issues. Based on this agreement, since December 2010, Honda has been implementing an Electric Vehicle Testing Program in Saitama that features advanced electromotive technology and communications and telematics to help realize a low-carbon mobility society in the future.
Within this program, the Saitama Prefectural Office Solar Hydrogen Station will represent the hydrogen-powered society of the future, while the specially equipped FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle will refuel at the solar powered station and serve as both a vehicle and a high-capacity electric generator. This setup will allow Honda to do extensive testing on the technological capabilities and operational requirements of the Solar Hydrogen Station in a real-world urban environment.
The FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle became available for lease in the US in July 2008 and in Japan in November of the same year. In January 2010 at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, Inc., Honda began experimental operation of a compact, quiet and low-cost next-generation Solar Hydrogen Station for household use.