Honda and General Motors Announce Cooperation in Production of Hydrogen Power Units in the United States
Honda and General Motors (GM) announced cooperation in the production of hydrogen fueled power units in the United States through Fuel Cell System Manufacturing (FCSM), LLC. This hydrogen fueled power unit has superior durability because it uses materials that are highly corrosion resistant and resistant to low temperatures. This system will be used in hydrogen fuel vehicles (FCEV) which Honda will launch in 2024.
To reduce costs in development and production, the company has taken various approaches including reducing the use of significant amounts of precious metals, increasing economies of scale through large production and standardizing spare parts procurement sources. With the various efforts that have been made, the cost of the material cell system has been reduced to one third of the total cost.
FCSM was founded in January 2017 and is the first cooperative company in the automotive industry to focus on the production of advanced fuel cell systems. The GM battery manufacturing factory has a total investment of $85 million and was built on a land area of 6,503 m2 located in Brownstown, Michigan, United States.
FCSM President Suheb Haq said, "This start of production marks an important milestone for GM and Honda in our efforts to make transportation and other energy needs carbon neutral. Everyone at FCSM works as 'one team' with the mission of providing a hydrogen fuel cell system that is affordable to our customers."
Tetsuo Suzuki, Vice President of FCSM, also added, “We have created a powerful production system that integrates the strengths of Honda and GM. We have realized a high-quality mass production system that pays attention to details, and strives to utilize hydrogen fuel cell technology in the future and the beginning of the hydrogen era. We are ready to meet your needs.”
Since 2013, Honda and GM have collaborated in the development of fuel cell systems with the aim of producing a more practical and low-cost system to expand its use and utility in the future.
Honda has a goal of achieving carbon neutrality through all of the company's products and activities by 2050. This effort includes not only products, but also their entire life cycle, including company activities related to clean energy and resource circulation. Hydrogen is positioned as a promising energy carrier along with electricity. Honda has been conducting research and development on hydrogen and FCEV technology for more than 30 years.
