sling rescued in the Clarity, its only hydrogen-powered car in the US, but the automaker hasn’t given up on fuel cells.
That’s the message Honda sent today with a peculiar announcement: It’s bringing some old Clarity fuel cells back to work, combining them into a backup power system for its data center south of Los Angeles.
This is just a “proof of concept,” Honda told TechCrunch, but it aims to commercialize the technology and sees potential applications beyond helping data centers keep the lights on.
The fuel cell systems used in Honda’s backup power demonstration once powered leased Clarities (via an electrochemical reaction that combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity). Honda retired these fuel cells used for transportation, but apparently they still work well enough to power their server farm in the event of a power failure. Previously, Honda relied on diesel for backup power at the facility. (Honda said it uses this particular data center to “securely maintain and access its proprietary data” because “automotive design is data intensive.”)
It’s nice to know that Honda found a use for its old fuel cells, but more importantly, this demo isn’t as environmentally friendly as it could be. The company told TechCrunch that it is not exclusively using green hydrogen in the pilot, which means that at least some of it was generated through fossil fuels.
This is the problem with using hydrogen to generate electricity: fuel cells do it while spitting out only water and heat as exhaust, but are still indirectly polluting if that hydrogen comes from dirty sources (as most hydrogen fuel does). ). Correcting this requires much more green hydrogen production, plus whatever infrastructure is needed to deliver the hydrogen. This is why some automakers don’t believe in the future of hydrogen-powered cars; they argue that it is simply too much work to go down that road.
But! Honda still believes in hydrogen-powered cars. In fact, this demo is also something of an announcement of Honda’s next-generation fuel cells, which the company developed with General Motors.
As Honda says, next-generation fuel cell systems will power its next hydrogen-powered vehicle, which is “based on the Honda CR-V” and is due in 2024.
Honda also plans to use these new fuel cell systems for backup power as the technology scales. That means this effort won’t be as circular, if at all, when it goes commercial. On the bright side, though, Honda said it intends to exclusively use green hydrogen when marketing backup power units.
Beyond data centers, Honda added that it is considering other applications, including “spike shaving.” This means Honda believes industrial customers could use their generators at peak times, when electricity is most expensive and grids are strained.
Honda said its goal is to turn its proof of concept into a “new business model.” However, the pilot is also a convenient way for the company to talk about its new fuel cells. As battery-electric cars permeate the US market, Honda has an interest in keeping hydrogen in the headlines.