Auto Tech: What is a Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) and how does it work?

Let’s take for example a FCV like Honda FCX Clarity, the One James May reviewed in Top Gear. The Clarity has two main parts in its drive train a normal electric motor and something known as “Fuel Cell” which provides electricity to the motor.

A Fuel Cell is an electro-chemical unit which produces electricity by a chemical reaction between fuel and air. The Fuel Cell used in the Honda and other FCVs is a Hydrogen Fuel Cell. When you fuel the Honda with Hydrogen, the Fuel Cell on-board the car strikes a chemical reaction between Hydrogen and oxygen from air and creates electricity. This electricity produced by the fuel cell runs the electric motor and the car in turn.
Instead of pure hydrogen, hydrogen rich fuels like methanol, natural gas or even petrol can be used as the fuel but they all have to be converted into hydrogen gas by an on-board device called reformer.

The Fuel Cell Vehicles might be the thing for the future because of the following advantages

• Unlike petroleum we won’t run out of Hydrogen as it is one of the most abundant elements.
• It is so abundant the only cost of hydrogen comes from processing, it costs a bit less than petrol.
• FCVs don’t produce any pollutants as the output of the chemical reaction between hydrogen and Oxygen is water vapor H20.
• Fuel efficiency of 116Kms per kilogram of Hydrogen.

Honda is currently leasing out the FCX Clarity only in California. It is leasing because the technology is very expensive which is its main downside and Honda is only selling it in Cali because only Cali has Hydrogen fuel bunks.