GENERAL NEWS

MOTORCYCLES SAY HELLO HYDROGEN

THE BIG FOUR MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURERS - HONDA, KAWASAKI, SUZUKI AND YAMAHA JOIN FORCES TO DEVELOP SMALL MOBILITY HYDROGEN ENGINES

BY Lucy England ON 31 May 2023

The times they are a changin' as the ICE faces the end of the road

The four main motorcycle suits, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki, may have an ace up their sleeves soon, as they have got the ministerial go ahead to form a technological research association called HySE (Hydrogen Small Mobility & Engine technology). The aim of HySE is to move forward with the development of hydrogen-powered engines specifically designed for motorcycles, as opposed to cars and larger vehicles.

The mainstream trend seems to be heading pretty exclusively towards electric engines when the ICE production deadline in 2035 kicks in, but some vehicle manufacturers are thinking hard about other alternatives. Motorcycles are perhaps in need of some other ideas, as larger batteries are heavy for a smaller machine which is designed to be manueverable.

Just like the old adage, it’s not a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket, so a multi pathway ride into the future seems like a better strategy, hence the desire to see how hydrogen shapes up as an available alternative fuel.

As with all innovations, there are technical challenges along the way in developing hydrogen as a useable fuel – here’s what HySE are looking at as issues to be dealt with -
“fast flame speed and a large region of ignition, which often result in unstable combustion”
“the limited fuel tank capacity in case of use in small mobility vehicles”

However the motivation is great and the collaboration is between the heavyweights of motorcycling so, coupled with human ingenuity – watch this space…

Any thoughts? Are you looking forward to trying out a hydrogen engine motorcycle? [email protected] or on Facebook