As humanity ventures back to the Moon and further into the final frontier, space agencies and their contractors will have to devise methods to use available resources as efficiently as possible. Honda is bringing its hydrogen fuel cell expertise to the table with a new circulative renewable energy system. The automotive conglomerate plans on sending the core of its water electrolysis system to the International Space Station to verify its efficiency and reliability in microgravity. Honda’s ultimate goal is to use its technology to support a lunar outpost.
Honda envisions its regenerative fuel cell system as a clean, sustainable and scalable closed loop. On the lunar surface, the system would operate in two different states depending on the time of day to continuously produce oxygen, hydrogen, and electricity. During the day, sunlight would generate electricity to power the system, converting water into hydrogen and oxygen. At night, the fuel cell would use hydrogen and excess oxygen to produce electricity. Water would be a byproduct during nighttime operations, closing the loop.
If NASA returns to the Moon, it’ll need the technology
It’s unclear when Honda’s ISS testing program will begin, but it is being done in collaboration with Sierra Space. The American private space company is developing the Dream Chaser, an uncrewed resupply spaceplane. The spacecraft is slated to launch from Cape Canaveral on a demonstration mission to the ISS as soon as the third quarter of this year.
Honda isn’t the only prospective contractor attempting to provide electricity to NASA’s planned outpost on the Moon. NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy plan to establish a small 40-kilowatt nuclear fission reaction on the lunar surface. In 2022, the federal government awarded three $5 million development contracts to Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse and IX, a joint venture between Intuitive Machines and X-energy.
Even with a reactor, Honda’s fuel cell would prove useful in generating oxygen and water, precious commodities 238,900 miles from Earth. The only question remaining is if NASA actually returns to the Moon. Development issues with the Space Launch System and SpaceX’s Starship have severely delayed the Artemis program. As it stands, the first habitat of the lunar outpost will be set up on Artemis VIII in 2033.
