Honda is sending its hydrogen tech to space

Honda’s regenerative substance compartment exertion continuously produces hydrogen, oxygen, and electricity. | Image: Honda

Honda is looking to the stars for its adjacent hydrogen breakthrough.

The automaker is teaming up with abstraction tech companies Sierra Space and Tec-Masters to trial its high-differential unit h2o electrolysis strategy connected the International Space Station. The trial is portion of Honda’s imaginativeness to enactment beingness connected the Moon and elsewhere successful abstraction utilizing regenerative substance compartment exertion that continuously produces hydrogen, oxygen, and electricity.

It’s different risky determination from Honda, which is much bullish connected hydrogen than astir different automakers. Hydrogen-powered cars person historically faced a batch of hurdles, including fueling challenges and pricing pressures. But Honda is counting connected hydrogen to assistance it decarbonize its conveyance fleet by 2040. And present it wants to pat into the astir abundant constituent successful the beingness to powerfulness its propulsion into space.

Honda says it envisions its hydrogen-powered regenerative strategy arsenic portion of a quality colony connected the lunar surface. But it besides hopes that by accent investigating the exertion connected the Moon, it tin beryllium its inferior connected Earth.

Here’s however Honda’s strategy works: during the lunar day, the strategy volition usage energy generated by star panels capturing sunlight. The company’s high-differential unit h2o electrolysis strategy volition past nutrient hydrogen and oxygen from water. When the Moon rotates distant from the Sun, immoderate of the oxygen volition beryllium utilized for astronauts, with the remainder enactment toward generating electricity. The lone byproduct of the electrolysis process is water, which is recycled backmost into the regenerative system, creating a closed-loop vigor cycle.

Honda plans connected investigating the process successful the microgravity situation connected the ISS. The institution says it volition enactment with NASA to transport the instrumentality connected Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane, with Tec-Masters arsenic the ISS exertion expert.

Creating a reliable root of oxygen and energy successful abstraction would assistance humans found livable habitats off-Earth successful an epoch erstwhile abstraction question seems much achievable than ever. While the subject assemblage has explored the usage of electrolysis arsenic a means to prolong beingness successful the vacuum of space, it has recovered that debased gravity environments volition person immoderate effect connected the gas-evolving process. A survey published successful 2022 concluded that astir 11 percent little oxygen was created done electrolysis successful a lunar situation arsenic compared to the gravity of Earth.