THE “BIG FOUR” JOIN FORCES IN HYDROGEN MOTORCYCLE ENGINE DEVELOPMENT

THE “BIG FOUR” JOIN FORCES IN HYDROGEN MOTORCYCLE ENGINE DEVELOPMENT

This is the 1000cc Kawasaki Hydrogen engine that was shown at EICMA last year. The hydrogen will be carried in quick-change cannisters.

Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki have announced that they have formed a technological research association called HySE (Hydrogen Small mobility & Engine technology) to develop hydrogen-powered engines for motorycles. They understand that the use of hydrogen poses technical challenges, including fast flame speed and a large region of ignition, which often result in unstable combustion, not to mentioned the limited fuel tank capacity of motorycles. The members of HySE are committed to conducting fundamental research, capitalizing on their wealth of expertise and aim to work together with the joint mission of establishing a design standard for small mobility’s hydrogen-powered engine, and of advancing the fundamental research endeavors in this area.

The idea is for the Big Four Japanese motorcycle manufacturer to share the technological workload:
(1) Honda will focus on research on the model-based development of hydrogen-powered engines.
(2) Suzuki will study the functionality, performance and reliability of the hydrogen-powered engines.
(3) Yamaha and Kawasaki will do hands-on research using real hydrogen-powered engines and study the hydrogen refueling system and hydrogen tanks for small mobility engines.
(4) And, Toyota will lend its know-how from designing large hydrogen-fueled power units for four-wheel vehicles.

 

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