Honda Introduces Initiatives in New Areas, Taking on Challenges in New Areas while Leveraging Its Core Technologies
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today introduced the technology development direction the company is currently pursuing for the challenges Honda is taking on in new areas while leveraging its core technologies. This direction leads to the fulfillment of Honda’s 2030 Vision of serving people worldwide with the “joy of expanding their life’s potential.”
One of these technologies is Taking on challenges in the field of space technology
- Accelerating Honda research and development in the field of space technologies while viewing it as a place to take on challenges to realize the “dreams” and “potential” of people worldwide while leveraging its core technologies
- Building a circulative renewable energy system on the lunar surface by leveraging Honda fuel cell technologies and high differential pressure water electrolysis technologies
- Applying Honda’s multi-fingered robotic hand, AI-supported remote-control function, and highly-responsive torque control technologies to remotely-controlled robots which will perform tasks on the lunar surface
- Proposal by young Honda engineers to research and develop a small, reusable rocket by applying Honda’s core technologies such as combustion, fluid, control and guidance technologies
Honda views the field of space technologies as a place to take on new challenges to realize the “dreams” and “potential” of people worldwide while leveraging its core technologies.
By leveraging core technologies unique to Honda, such as combustion, guidance, fuel cell and robotics technologies, Honda is pursuing technology development with a goal to create new value in the ultimate environment of outer space.
As international momentum for expanding the range of human activities outside the Earth continues to grow, Honda began initiatives to strive for the expansion of human activities and development on the lunar surface. It is said that there is water on the Moon, and various possibilities for the use of water may open up are attracting attention. Honda is conducting a joint research with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) with a goal to build the circulative renewable energy system on the lunar surface by leveraging fuel cell technologies and high differential pressure water electrolysis technologies Honda has amassed to date.
By combining Honda’s fuel cell technologies and high differential pressure water electrolysis technologies, and by using electricity from renewable energy sources, the system electrically decomposes water and stores and oxygen. Then, using that hydrogen and oxygen, Honda’s fuel cell technologies, can generate and supply electricity. The oxygen also can be used for people staying at living quarters on the lunar surface, and the hydrogen also will be used as fuel for rockets. By building such a circulative renewable energy system, Honda will strive to contribute to a wide range of human activities on the lunar surface.
Moreover, for the remotely-controlled robots on the lunar surface, which can minimize the risks astronauts will be exposed to and enable people to virtually enjoy the experience of being on the Moon from Earth, Honda is expecting to apply a number of its core technologies. This includes the multi-fingered robotic hand technology and AI-supported remote control technology being developed for the Honda Avatar Robot and the highly-responsive torque control technology for collision mitigation. These research themes were adopted by the JAXA Space Exploration Innovation Hub and the joint research began in February of this year.
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