Posted on 10 Jun 2024
Japanese carmaker Honda has begun production of the 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) in the US state of Ohio.
The company claims it is the only FCEV made in the continent and the first production hydrogen FCEV in the US to combine a locally-made fuel cell system with plug-in EV charging capability. This means it can be charged with both hydrogen and electricity, Kallanish learns.
The crossover utility vehicle has a range of 270 miles, 29 provided by plug-in EV charging. There are 183,000 EV charging points across the US and 50 public hydrogen stations for cars, all of which are in California. Another 15 are planned in California, according to the US Department of Energy.
The vehicle’s fuel cell system is produced at Fuel Cell System Manufacturing, the joint venture production facility between Honda and General Motors, located in Brownstown, Michigan.
Honda says the new version has double durability performance and two-thirds lower cost than the previous fuel cell system in the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell.
“I’m proud of how our production technicians leveraged their experience building the Acura NSX to take on the challenge of making this all-new Honda CR-V e:FCEV,” says Patrick McIntyre, lead of the Ohio performance manufacturing centre. “Producing a zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicle is one more step toward Honda’s global goal of achieving carbon neutrality for our products and operations.”
The company has pledged to only sell BEVs and FCEVs by 2040. It has selected Ohio as its EV hub, investing $700 million to retool existing facilities and $4.4 billion for an EV battery plant with LG Energy Solution.
Source:Kallanish
