Keen to capitalise of the booming eco-friendly car industry trend, Honda has announced an ambitious new project that could soon have you filling up in the comfort of your own driveway.

The latest development from the Japanese giant is a home-based hydrogen re-filling station, and what’s more it’s solar-powered.

The manufacturer has been working on the new technology at its US base where plans for the next-generation hydrogen fuelling stations that harness sunlight are being fine-tuned for home installation, effectively doing away with trips to the service station forever save for the papers and savouries. The new prototype has been designed to offer hydrogen celled vehicles enough of a refill during their individual eight-hour pit stop each evening. In that time the docking unit can produce half a kilo of hydrogen – around the average for every day commuting in the hybrid cars.

Trialled before, the benefit of the new system from Honda is that it foregoes the normal compressor component associated with hydrogen refilling which is usually bulky and expensive. Instead a new high high pressure differential electrolyser will be utilised. On top of that, any surplus power generated by the owner can be resold through the Honda energy grid to an approved supplier.

The initiative is at the forefront of Honda’s desire to further utilise fuel cell vehicles in the future by creating clean, convenient and cost-effective energy into households. The solar panel comprises of 48 individual panels and uses off-peak energy.