Hydrogen Future?

Honda team up with General Motors

Honda and General Motors are the latest firms to reveal plans to get stuck into some hydrogen fuel cell research – and we’re here for it.

With the increasingly urgent need for emissions-free vehicles, we’ve started to see more and more battery-powered machines making it to market. But there’s still a lot of scepticism among bikers about the plausibility of electric (particularly for those making longer journeys).

Thankfully, it looks like there might be another option – because Honda and General Motors have announced that they’re throwing some resources into exploring what can be done with hydrogen.

Hydrogen’s magic stuff. It’s plentiful and has almost three times the energy density of fossil fuels. But it’s pretty difficult to harness. That said, Honda and GM already have plans to release a CR-V four-wheeler powered by a hydrogen fuel cell next year – and we’re hoping this technology makes it into a two-wheeler very soon.

Toyota’s come up with replaceable hydrogen fuel-cell cartridges, which can be safely used, refilled and slotted into place, similar to some of the battery-swapping tech we’ve seen in recent years. Kawasaki’s been looking into using pressurised gas canisters (stashed in some panniers) to power a supercharged engine based on the Ninja H2. TVS has also submitted a patent for a scooter with two removable hydrogen canisters tucked into the front fairing.

With hydrogen power getting plenty of attention from some big motorcycle and scooter firms, it’s increasingly likely that an alternative to battery-powered bikes will be coming soon. Good stuff.

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