Honda began selling Clarity, the world's first five-passenger sedan to be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell last week. The Clarity Fuel Cell burns hydrogen gas to generate electricity and leaves only water vapor as exhaust.
Honda has outfitted the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with a mobile power supply system, enabling the car to provide 9 kilowatts of electricity continuously for more than seven hours on a full tank of hydrogen at peak generation. At the lower-generation rates needed to power a typical home in Japan, the FCX Clarity could provide electricity for six days.
Nissan and Mitsubishi also have vehicle-to-home power systems, albeit with smaller energy capacities. These systems can be used in emergency power outage situations or to offset the cost of electricity during peak use hours.
Clarity will initially sell for $67,000 in Japan, but Honda officials said leases will be available for less than $500 per month when they go on sale later this year in California.
