Honda R&D Americas, a subsidiary of Honda in Japan, and Plug Power recently announced that they have began successful operation of the second-generation Home Energy Station (HES-II) located at Plug Power's headquarters in New York.
HES-II is the further evolution of a joint development effort by Honda and Plug Power to produce a home refueling unit that provides hydrogen from natural gas for vehicle refueling, heat for domestic hot water use and electricity for the home.
For earlier research efforts with the HES-I, Honda can optimize several subsystems for home use.
By fully integrating hydrogen production and storage systems, the space needed for natural gas reformation and hydrogen compression is significantly reduced.
"Honda is taking a comprehensive approach that includes the development of both fuel cell and refueling technologies. Home refueling System could play an important role in the introduction of fuel cell technology and the development of a hydrogen refueling infrastructure," said Ben Knight, Vice President Honda R&D Americas.
