The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have certified Honda's second-generation fuel cell vehicle, the 2005 Honda FCX, for commercial use.

The FCX is the first fuel cell vehicle from the Japanese car manufacturing giant to be powered by a Honda designed and manufactured fuel cell stack, with the new model reflecting a near 20 per cent improvement in its EPA fuel economy rating.

The hydrogen-powered vehicle has been certified by CARB as a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) and as a Tier-2 Bin 1 National Low Emission Vehicle (NLEV), the lowest possible national emission rating.

In terms of energy efficiency, one mile per kilogram (mpkg) of hydrogen is almost equivalent to one mile per gallon (mpg) of gasoline.

Gunnar Lindstrom, senior manager of American Honda Alterative Fuel Vehicles commented on the recognition accorded to the vehicle: "This is an important step for larger scale commercial application of our fuel cell vehicle technology and the Honda FC stack."

Terry Tamminen, Agency Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, claimed the 2005 Honda FCX represented an important milestone in the ongoing progress towards the creation of a hydrogen economy.

"This second generation fuel cell from Honda makes further simultaneous progress in key areas including performance, range, efficiency and cold weather operability while achieving zero emissions," said Mr Tamminen.