Highways filled with hydrogen cars are still decades away, but that doesn’t diminish the achievement of rolling the first fuel-cell car off a mass-production line. To open up interior space, Honda developed its own fuel cell, a 100-kilowatt stack that packs substantially more energy into a 65 percent smaller space than other designs and squeezes neatly into the tunnel between the front seats. And by working through several generations of concept cars, Honda has gotten the once-experimental FCX to look and drive just like a gas-powered car. It even has a 280-mile range. The big difference: Nothing comes out of the tailpipe but water vapor. Three-year lease for $600 a month; honda.com How It Works
Inside the fuel cell:
[1] Hydrogen and air flow from top to bottom in Honda’s fuel cell through wave-shaped channels [2]. Along the way, an electrolyte surface transforms the hydrogen into water and electrons. The cooling system [3] runs horizontally through the channels to keep the cell from overheating.
Beyond gasoline
The 45.7-gallon tank in the rear of the car stores compressed hydrogen, which the fuel cell between the front seats converts into electricity and water.
