Honda has launched a model of its well-liked CR-V compact crossover powered by a hydrogen gas cell.

The brand new CR-V e:FCEV will arrive for the 2025 mannequin yr and be provided solely by way of lease to prospects in California. Hydrogen filling stations are nonetheless exhausting to return by, and California is without doubt one of the few states with some stations open to the general public.

In gas cell autos, hydrogen is mixed with oxygen from the air in a reverse electrolysis course of that takes place inside a gas cell stack. Byproducts embody water and electrical energy, with the latter used to energy an electrical drive system spinning the wheels.

Honda developed the CR-V e:FCEV’s gas cell with Common Motors, and stated prices have been diminished by two-thirds in comparison with the gas cell used within the former Readability Gas Cell. Sturdiness and efficiency in chilly temperatures have been additionally improved, Honda stated.

Within the CR-V e:FCEV, the drive system consists of a single electrical motor on the entrance axle producing a peak of 174 hp. The automobile additionally has a 17.7-kwh battery that on a full cost can ship an estimated vary of 29 miles. It has a plug, that means house owners can cost the battery at residence, serving to to scale back the time between hydrogen fills.

With a full tank of hydrogen, the mixed vary is estimated at 270 miles.

On this sense, the automobile is sort of a typical plug-in hybrid, however with a gas cell as a substitute of a fuel engine. Mercedes-Benz had an analogous design for its gas cell GLC-Class inbuilt restricted numbers just a few years in the past.

Manufacturing of the CR-V e:FCEV is dealt with on the former plant of the Acura NSX supercar, situated in Marysville, Ohio. NSX manufacturing got here to an finish on the specialist plant in 2022, although a future NSX presumably packing electrical energy could finally be constructed on the website.