Honda is going all in and against everyone, now it doesn’t want electric cars anymore (we don’t know why…) now it’s going to bet everything on hydrogen. Goodbye batteries! They’ve decided that the electric world is fine, but it shouldn’t be the only one on the market and yes, while the other brands fight over who launches the biggest novelty, the cheapest electric or the longest-lasting battery, this Japanese brand has decided to step out of the line and start a path in another direction: hydrogen.
And nothing experimental, they want the future to also be filled with this element, 0 emissions, faster to refuel… does anyone see any disadvantage here?
The first step has a name
What Honda has prepared is called Honda CR-V e:FCEV 2025, and it’s not just an electric car, it’s a whole platform. It combines a hydrogen fuel cell with a plug-in battery, and between both technologies it can reach up to 270 miles of range, an incredible figure that uses the best of both worlds.
Honda towards 2050
25 years and one strategy, this CR-V is just the first brick of the empire that Honda wants to establish before 2050, they want to build a hydrogen refueling infrastructure, encourage new habits and contribute to a clean energy system, establishing that by 2040 only 0-emission vehicles will be sold by the brand.
A long-term strategy
The launch of the CR-V e:FCEV is just the beginning. Honda wants to go beyond selling cars. Their vision includes building a network of hydrogen refueling stations, boosting infrastructure and betting on a clean energy ecosystem. Their goal is to sell only zero-emission vehicles in 2040 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Why hydrogen and not just batteries?
Honda is not rejecting electrics, they have nothing against them, but they don’t want to depend on a single technology, and since innovation and technology usually go hand in hand, they believe hydrogen is a better option. It refuels in just a few minutes, offers very good range and could be quite useful for intensive-use vehicles, while batteries are much slower, the materials to make them are very hard to obtain and the range… well, it’s not the best yet.
The CR-V
Front electric motor with 174 hp and 229 lb-ft, powered by a hydrogen cell and a 17.7 kWh battery. This battery allows it to go about 47 km in 100% electric mode. It can recharge in about two hours with a level 2 charger. And on top of that, it has bidirectional charging, which means it can power your house in case of a blackout.
A risky move?
Maybe, it’s not going to be an easy road, especially considering that other manufacturers like Toyota have abandoned the hydrogen ship and companies like Shell are closing their refueling stations, so Honda is going against the current, little by little. For now they’re only going to make 300 units and they’ll only be available on lease to prove that this alternative can work well on the streets.
Beyond lithium
Honda doesn’t deny that electrics have a future, but they don’t think the future should depend on lithium, extracting it has a complicated environmental impact, desperate recharges… and hydrogen has better things (though infrastructure is not one of them right now). The alternative is there, if it develops properly, the road towards the future could have a new path and Honda could be the one leading the song.
Honda goes its own way, and that’s not bad, it’s still too early to know if this path will bear fruit, but if anyone can defend that hydrogen has a future, it’s a brand like Honda