Honda Motor Company recently developed the FCX, the nation's first fuel cell vehicle certified for highway use. Five of these vehicles are being leased to the city of Los Angeles. 

 

Honda contracted with Air Products to provide the hydrogen fuel and refueling infrastructure. To meet their needs, in December, 2002, Air Products delivered the first hydrogen fueler to Honda. The fueler contains stored hydrogen that is generated at an external source. The compact, self-contained unit was transported right to the customer's site where it requires no compressor or hook-up requirements. The system is monitored remotely and was designed to ensure daily, around-the-clock, hydrogen fast-fill vehicle fueling availability. The remote system measures the unit's hydrogen fuel level, and Air Products replaces or exchanges it for a full unit when the quantity is reduced to a certain level. Prior to customer use, Air Products provided operational and safety training of the unit.