Honda R&D Americas (Torrance, California) and Plug Power Inc. (Latham, New York) have begun successful operation of the second-generation Home Energy Station (HES II) located at Plug Power's headquarters in Latham.

HES II is the further evolution of a joint development effort by Honda and Plug Power to produce a home refueling unit that provides hydrogen from natural gas for vehicle refueling, heat for domestic hot water use and electricity for the home. Testing of the HES II system will be done in conjunction with demonstration of Honda's 2005 FCX fuel cell car on public roads in the Northeastern United States. The development of this new more compact HES II, along with operation of the Honda FCX and Honda FC Stack in sub-zero temperatures, represent significant advancements in this program to develop advanced, real world, fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen refueling solutions.

In a continuation of earlier research efforts with the first-generation HES station-located on the campus of Honda R&D Americas in Torrance, the HES II incorporates several subsystems that use Plug Power's proprietary technology. By optimizing production and storage of hydrogen for home use, the space needed for natural gas reformation and hydrogen compression is significantly reduced. Previously housed in two separate units, it has now been internalized into one significantly smaller package that includes the natural gas reformer, hydrogen purifier, fuel cell stack, compressor, fuel storage and delivery system. This fully integrated system now provides improvements in overall operation and efficiency.
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