Honda turned to the Clarity (the only hydrogen-powered car in the US), but automakers haven’t given up on fuel cells.
That’s the message Honda sent today with a peculiar announcement. What it does is combine them into a backup power system at a data center just south of Los Angeles to make some old Clarity fuel cells work.
Honda told TechCrunch that this is just a “proof of concept,” but it is aiming to commercialize the technology and sees potential applications beyond helping data centers keep the lights on.
The fuel cell system used in Honda’s backup power demonstration powered the once leased Clarities (via an electrochemical reaction that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity). Honda discarded these spent fuel cells for shipping, but they seem to still perform well enough to power a server farm even in the event of a power outage. Previously, Honda relied on diesel for backup power at the facility. (Honda says it will use this particular data center to “securely maintain and access its own data” because “car designs are data-intensive.”)
It’s nice to hear that Honda has found a use for its old fuel cells, but crucially, this demo isn’t as green as it could possibly be. rather, it meant that at least some of it was generated via fossil fuels.
This is a problem when using hydrogen to generate electricity. Fuel cells do so by exhaling only water and heat as exhaust, but they still indirectly cause pollution if their hydrogen comes from a dirty source (as most hydrogen fuels do). Fixing this will require more green hydrogen production in addition to the infrastructure needed to supply it. This is why some automakers don’t believe in the future of hydrogen cars. They claim it’s too hard to go that route.
but! Honda still believes in hydrogen cars. In fact, the demonstration is also a kind of advertisement for Honda’s next-generation fuel cell, which the company has developed jointly with General Motors.
As Honda says, the next-generation fuel cell system will be installed in a “Honda CR-V-based” hydrogen-fueled vehicle scheduled for 2024.
Honda also plans to use these new fuel cell systems as backup power as it expands its technology. So even if this effort were to be commercialized, it wouldn’t be so cyclical. But on the bright side, Honda said it intends to use only green hydrogen when commercializing backup power units.
Besides data centers, Honda added that it is looking at other applications such as “peak shaving.” This means that Honda believes industrial customers can use generators during peak times when electricity is most expensive and strains the grid.
Honda said it aims to develop the proof of concept into a “new business model”. Still, the pilot is also a convenient way for the company to talk about its new fuel cell. As battery-electric vehicles penetrate the U.S. market, Honda is interested in keeping up with hydrogen news.
