Honda produces its first hydrogen fuel cell car

Honda has announced that its first ever advanced hydrogen fuel cell car - the FCX Clarity - has rolled off the production line in Japan today.

The car has spent a long time in development - 19 years in fact - and Honda believes it heralds a 'new era' of cleaner motoring.

The FCX Clarity emits only water from its exhaust pipe and was presented to three of the first US customers in a line-off ceremony at the world's first dedicated fuel cell vehicle factory: the Honda Automobile New Model Centre (Takanezawa-machi, Shioya-gun, Tochigi Prefecture).

Lease sales are scheduled to begin in July in the US and in Japan this autumn. The combined sales plan for Japan and the US will be approximately 70 cars per year, with a total of 200 units over three years.

Customers will follow a three-year lease term, at a price of approximately £300, including maintenance and collision insurance.

Among the early adopters are the actress Jamie Lee Curtis, her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest and film producer Ron Yerxa.

At the heart of the FCX Clarity is a fuel cell stack - a device that uses an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to convert chemical energy into electrical energy to power a motor that drives the car's wheels.

Honda's FC stack simultaneously generates electricity and water, emitting no CO2 or other harmful emissions.

A new dedicated fuel cell vehicle assembly line has been established for the production of the FCX Clarity, which includes processes unique to a fuel cell car, such as the installation of the fuel cell stack and hydrogen tank.

"The arrival of the first hydrogen fuel cell car is particularly significant during this time of rapidly increasing oil prices," enthused John Kingston, environment manager for Honda UK.

"Honda is proud to offer an alternative energy solution that could reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and the effect of motoring on climate change."