Confidently modern, Honda's next-generation FCX Concept fuel cell vehicle has made its European driving launch at the Gotland Ring in Sweden last week. The vehicle is claimed to have an energy efficiency of nearly 60 percent. Such percentage depicts three times that of a petrol-engine vehicle, twice that of a hybrid vehicle and 10 percent better than the current FCX.

The FCX Concept is on of Honda's major leap in the development of fuel cell technology and will be the basis for a totally new fuel cell vehicle which the company is currently developing. The limited marketing of this new vehicle is on target to begin in 2008 in Japan and the US.

The FCX Concept is equipped with a V Flow fuel cell platform as well as a reinvented Honda catalytic converter to meet Honda's objectives for significant gains in both environmental and driving performance. In previous fuel cell stacks, the hydrogen and the water are formed in electricity generation that is flowing horizontally. This vehicle features a vertical-flow design which allows gravity to assist in discharging the water that is produced and achieving a higher output from a smaller package. As a result, there is a major improvement in water drainage, which is the key to high-efficiency fuel stack performance.

This latest fuel cell stack is 20 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter as compared to the current FCX FC Stack. But its power output is 14kW greater. The drive motor has been positioned in the same axis with the gearbox for a more compact design, with output increased by 15kW. Overall, the power plant is almost 180kg lighter than that of the current FCX and, an estimated, 40 percent smaller in volume. Furthermore, the V Flow fuel cell platform has allowed the designers to create an elegant, low-riding, sedan form that would have been hard to achieve in a conventional fuel cell vehicle. The product is improved energy efficiency and performance alongside a more spacious interior.

More about the FCX
The extraordinary Honda FCX possesses a Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV). Water vapor is the only emission that the FCX produces. This is for the reason that a revolutionary technology allows the FCX to power its motor with electricity generated from a hydrogen-oxygen chemical reaction. With a top output of 80 horsepower and 201 Lb.-ft. of torque, the FCX offers responsive acceleration that is ideal for city driving.

The Honda FCX is the world's most advanced FCV in a regular daily operation and the first hydrogen-powered FCV to be certified by the CARB and the U.S. EPA, as a 2003 model in July 2002.