The FXC Clarity: Honda's Zero-Emission Car

You've probably seen the television ad for Honda's new hydrogen powered fuel cell sedan, the FXC Clarity. The ad features a group of men dueling with water guns - as opposed to real guns - and then asks the question, "What if we could replace something harmful with water?" In promoting the FXC Clarity, Honda is making a bold claim: That the vehicle emits no pollution. The only emmissions that will produced by Honda's car of the future will be heat and water vapors, according to information provided by the ad and found on the company's website.

The fuel cell technology found in the FXC Clarity uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, which is then used to power the car. That means the vehicle will not rely on gasoline and will not produce many of the harmful emissions commonly associated with the use of fossil fuels. According to a section of Honda's website dedicated to the benefits of fuel cell power vehicles, "These cars simply do not pollute."

Honda derives its zero emissions claim in part from standards set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). According to Honda the FXC Clarity will be certified as a "Zero Emissions Vehicle" by the CARB.

The CARB's website contains information about the benefits of fuel cell powered cars. Fuel cell power vehicles may produce few to zero smog causing emissions. Water contamination by oil and gas leaks may be reduced through the use of fuel cell powered vehicles as well. Fuel cell powered vehicles like the FXC Clarity also emit lower levels of greenhouse gases, so they contribute less to the problem of climate change - or global warming.

The vehicle will be released in the summer of 2008. Unfortunately the vehicle's initial distribution will be limited to Southern California. That region is currently the only place in the country that contains a number of hydrogen refueling stations sufficient for sustaining use of the car. These stations are the equivalent to a gas station, only designed for use by fuel cell powered cars. The vehicle can go an estimated 270 miles before needing to be refueled, so Honda is advising potential buyers that they should not plan to drive the vehicle outside of Southern California.

To solve the problem Honda is working to create a Home Energy Station that would allow consumers to produce fuel for the vehicle right at home. More miraculously, the Home Energy Station would also provide electricity and heat for use in the home itself. An experimental model of the system runs on natural gas. You may be thinking, "Wait, isn't the idea to abandon the negative side affects of fossil fuels?" But according to Honda a household using its Home Energy Station would still produce 30 percent less carbon based emissions than a household that uses gas to power its vehicles and that relies upon commercially produced electricity.

Honda's FXC Clarity marks yet another breakthrough in the quest to produce a sustainable car. Now it is up to the consumer to push energy companies and car manufacturers to make this technology available for use on a nationwide scale.