TOKYO: Honda Motor Co and General Motors Co are expected to jointly develop batteries for fuel-cell vehicles, with the aim of lowering the cost of fuel-cell cars by improving volume efficiency, according to sources.
The firms hope to take the initiative in the next-generation eco-car market, observers said.
A fuel-cell vehicle is viewed as the “ultimate eco-car” as it does not emit exhaust gases such as carbon dioxide while in operation.
Honda and GM plan to jointly produce a core part of a fuel-cell system that can create electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen in the fuel cell and oxygen in the air.
Unlike a gasoline-fuel vehicle, a fuel-cell car uses many special parts, and the production cost will likely be about 10m yen (aout $95,550) per unit.
Reuters
