Honda to launch CR-V Fuel Cell EV with plug-in capability later this year

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are not new to Honda and in fact, along with Toyota, it was the first to offer FCEVs on a commercial basis with the Clarity FCV in 2016. However, over 5 years, demand remained low, perhaps because of limited refuelling stations and lack of incentives to offset costs, so Honda stopped FCEV production in 2021.

Although FCEVs remain in limited numbers, it seems that there is renewed interest in FCEVs using hydrogen by a  number of carmakers, even as there is now a rethink in the rush towards fully electric vehicles. After all, FCEVs also use electric motors powered by electricity generated by the fuel cell.

Collaboration with GM
Honda is among the companies that has renewed interest in FCEVs and this time round, unlike the Clarity, Honda has teamed up with General Motors in a joint venture to produce the fuel cells. While the joint venture company in the USA was established in 2017, Honda and GM engineers were working together on such systems as far back as 2013.

They have been working on the next-generation fuel cell system which aims to double durability compared to the 2019 Clarity by using corrosion-resistant materials and by improving low-temperature operation. More importantly, in addition to advancing fuel cell system performance, GM and Honda have focused on lowering development and manufacturing costs by leveraging economies of scale, advancing the cell design, simplifying supporting auxiliary equipment, utilizing common sourcing, and reducing the use of costly precious metals.

Lower manufacturing cost
Through this collaboration, the new fuel cell systems will be two-thirds less expensive to make when compared to the cost of the fuel cell system in the 2019 Clarity. With commercial production of the fuel cells having started last month, Honda is preparing to launch a CR-V with a fuel cell system.

Unlike the earlier FCEV, the CR-V will have plug-in capability as well. This will give the driver the option of charging the onboard battery pack for urban driving, and the flexibility of fast hydrogen refuelling for longer trips.

Of course, there will still be the question of hydrogen refuelling stations. In an effort to support the wider introduction of FCEVs (in the USA), Honda has invested more than US$14 million in California’s hydrogen refuelling network.

About the design of the camouflage wrap
Though the prototype is camouflaged in the pictures, it is clear that it is the latest CR-V with some differences at the front. The wrapping over the bodywork features a unique hydrogen atom design which was done by a team led by Sakura Morioka, a designer now in her second year at the company.

She took inspiration from the regularity and organic movement found in nature as well as cells and leaf veins. Then she came up with a way to convey how the car runs using electricity generated from the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. This led to arranging hydrogen atoms from the front of the SUV. The atoms are designed 3-dimensionally using 3DCG to express a sense of dynamism.

To be made at Performance Manufacturing Centre
The CR-V FCEV will be produced at the Performance Manufacturing Centre (PMC) in the American state of Ohio. This facility was conceived as a small volume, specialty manufacturing facility, focused on craftsmanship and hand-assembled vehicles.

Since opening in 2016, the PMC has been responsible for production of the Acura NSX, multiple Acura PMC Edition vehicles, along with Honda Performance Development racing cars. This makes the PMC uniquely suited to production of high-quality FCEVs, which require special assembly procedures.

Visit www.honda.com.my to know more about the latest Honda CR-V in Malaysia

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