Goodbye electric motorcycles. Hydrogen also reaches both wheels to change everything

The pursuit of sustainable mobility is leading to the exploration of new frontiers. and hydrogen is emerging as a promising alternative for vehicle movement. Although fuel cell vehicles are still few on the market due to their high cost and lack of charging infrastructure, the focus is shifting towards heavy transportand now also towards more maneuverable terrain: motorcycles.

Jet ski project

At the moment, Several motorcycle related projects are in the works. ranging from internal combustion engines using hydrogen as an energy source, to electrical equipment powered by hydrogen or fuel cells. A prime example in the latter category is Hydrocycle, which aims to present a real and functional prototype by 2025. This project is carried out thanks to the cooperation of German and Czech companies that are part of one consortium.

One of the main drivers of this project is Fraunhofer Institute

machines, tools and molding technologies from Germany. According to their representatives, with just 1 kilogram of compressed hydrogen the necessary energy can be obtained drive a car more than 100 kilometers.

The Hydrocycle Consortium sees huge potential in hydrogen technology applied in small vehicles such as motorcycles or scooters. However, the problems are obvious. fuel cells are not light, which creates obstacles when designing compact motorcycles. Despite this, the consortium adheres to European standards and regulations in force at that time. They highlight the potential of these motorcycles in various applications, especially in urban area and last mile delivery services.

Currently, Czech companies such as 1to1 design, the research company ÚJV Řež and the Czech Technical University are working on development of the platform on which the future motorcycle will be built runs on hydrogen. For their part, German companies, such as the above-mentioned Fraunhofer Institute and WätaSwärmetauscher Sachsen GmbH, are focused in the fuel cell and electric motor,

that is, in the propulsion system itself.

Kawasaki Ninja H2 Hydrogen

This project contrasts with the project Kawasaki, which has been in development for over a year. The Japanese company presented a prototype called Ninja H2 Hydrogen. Unlike the future jet ski, this project takes advantage of Internal combustion engine with a volume of 999 cubic centimeters and a power of 200 hp. The motorcycle has five hydrogen tanks located in the rear cargo compartments, which can be replaced with pre-filled cartridges.

Kawasaki continues to make progress in developing its hydrogen motorcycle and has already registered the name HySE (Hydrogen Low Mobility and Engine Technology) in collaboration with logo (a drop of water on two wheels) specifically for what is expected to be his first real model. This design will be based on good the well-known Ninja H2 SX. It is expected that the Japanese company will be able to bring this project to life this year, 2024.

It should be noted that the big four Japanese, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki, A few months ago they signed a cooperation agreement on the development of this technology (HySE). Your aim produce hydrogen engines for use on motorcycles and other “light” vehicles such as buggyquadricycles, cars, jet skis, etc.

The prospects for the development of hydrogen-powered motorcycles look attractive, with notable progress being made in both research and industry. There is widespread talk of various applications that could enable the use of hydrogen as a zero-emission propulsion alternative. It is very useful to keep track of these achievements because they have potential for urban mobility transformation Soon.