Honda to test compact hydrogen system on ISS for lunar life support

Honda, in partnership with Sierra Space and Tec-Masters, will test its high-differential pressure water electrolysis system aboard the International Space Station. The system is designed to produce oxygen, hydrogen, and electricity for a regenerative fuel cell that could sustain human life on the Moon and potentially offer scalable clean energy on Earth.

Bottom line — Honda's system aims to produce oxygen and power on the Moon, with Earth applications for decarbonization.

Go deeper (7)

• The system operates in a closed loop: solar panels split water into hydrogen and oxygen during the lunar day; oxygen is used for breathing, while hydrogen and excess oxygen generate electricity, with water as the only byproduct, per Honda.
• Honda's high-differential pressure water electrolysis system is compact and lightweight, cutting transportation costs to space, which can exceed €100 million per kilogram (¥100 million/kg), according to Honda.
• Sierra Space will manage mission integration and transport materials aboard its Dream Chaser spaceplane, which can return payloads to Earth at under 1.5 g's, per Sierra Space.
• Tec-Masters will provide expertise on ISS payload integration and certification during the testing phase, per Sierra Space.
• Honda formed a Space Development Division within American Honda last year to strengthen ties with the US space industry, per TechSpot.
• The technology could be adapted for Earth-based renewable energy systems, supporting global decarbonization, Honda said.
• Testing in microgravity will verify the system's efficiency and reliability, a key step before lunar deployment, per IEEE Spectrum.

Read the reporting