An associate at the Performance Manufacturing Center works on the new, 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV. The car is the only fuel cell electric vehicle made in America, combining a hydrogen fuel cell with plug-in EV charging capability.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Kayleen Petrovia)
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Marysville is now home to the only hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle made in the United States.
On Wednesday, Honda celebrated the start of production at the Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) of the 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that also has plug-in electric vehicle charging capability.
Joe Mazzocchi, the engineering project lead, said it was a challenge to create a “brand new product with an existing frame” but the CR-V e:FCEV is “smooth, elegant and quiet” with “no sacrifice in performance.”
While the car is currently only available for lease in California through 12 dealerships working with Honda, President and Director of Honda Manufacturing and Development of America Kensuke Oe said the vehicle is “a key part of our future.”
Oe said the car is intended to offer the driver options with the hydrogen fuel cell powering longer trips and the electric battery coming in handy for shorter drives around town.
It has a 270-mile driving range, with 29 miles from EV plug-in charging.
Bill Peck, plant project lead, said he understands that the infrastructure is not yet in place nationwide to make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles practical for everyone but Honda feels the CR-V e:FCEV will be the first step to “put it in the market and prove its viable.”
He added that Honda has already invested $13 million in the infrastructure for hydrogen fueling.
“We want that,” Peck said. “We want to say OK, Ohio’s on the map.”
Patrick McIntyre, lead of PMC, said the facility was the “ideal site for our reentry into the fuel cell market,” although it required many changes from the production of the Acura NSX.
On a tour of the facility, Peck highlighted the “complete transformation” of the PMC’s Weld Department.
With the NSX, the welding system was highly automated for an aluminum spaceframe while the CR-V e:FCEV is a multi-material, unibody construction that involves manual MIG welding.
Peck said PMC associates take particular pride in the paint process for their vehicles, which required an overhaul to achieve the same results that the East Liberty Auto Plant maintains with typical CR-Vs.
The dip tanks for the aluminum NSX bodies were smaller than needed for the heavier, steel body of the CR-V e:FCEV.
The new vehicles are dipped in the tanks at a precise 38-degree angle, Peck said, ensuring “every inch” of it is coated properly to avoid corrosion.
Associates can rotate the body on a rotisserie to manually apply sealer similarly to the application to the NSX, although a stronger equipment arm is used to support the weight.
“It’s as complicated or even more complicated than the NSX,” Peck said.
As Oe celebrated the production of the CR-V e:FCEV, he emphasized Honda’s goal to make battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles comprise 100% of its new vehicle sales by 2040.
The company is establishing the “Honda EV Hub” in Ohio, where it will begin production of electric vehicles in North America.
The fuel cell system that powers the CR-V e:FCEV is made at the Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC in Brownstown, Michigan, a joint venture production facility established by Honda and General Motors.
Peck said the technology is innovative but the CR-V e:FCEV “operates very similarly to any other car.”
He said the cost of the vehicle is not yet determined but he expects it to be competitive with any other fuel cell electric vehicle and even with the typical CR-V.