Is hydrogen powered two wheeler vehicle possible?

[Anil Can Turkmen]

Hi Jerryn,

This is quite possible. Of course, it depends on the power drawn by two-wheeled vehicles. However, its advantages over battery power alone need to be looked at. As a general acceptance, I think it will be suitable for powers above 500W.

In addition, there is a situation that needs to be addressed regarding hydrogen storage solutions. It seems appropriate to use metal hydride tubes in these vehicles, but the cost of the tubes seems to be more expensive than the cost of the vehicles for now.

I am of the opinion that this situation will improve in case of mass production.

Best regards,

Anil

[Jerryn Joy]

Thank you Anil for your reply!
I agree that hydrogen storage in two wheelers is a challenge considering the space requirements and weight of vehicle.

[Roy Niekerk]

https://www.pragma-industries.com/light-mobility/

[Jerryn Joy]

Thanks! It is really interesting. Will take a look into that!

[Andreas Esser]

Two wheelers are the mass transportation worldwide. People like them for many reasons:

offroad capability
low upfront cost

mass to transport ratio

especialy because of the fuel economy.
If you look at the cost of internal combustion motorbikes, they are sold for 2.000 Euro worldwide.
Best fuel economy is reached with ecu. change the injector and reprogram the ecu to hydrogen lambda and you can have 100 km range in hydrogen cylinders around. The cylinders are practically the most expensive part 600 €. Still you would be cheaper than a pragma industrie bicycle with fuel cell.
As far as motorcyclist countries are the poorer ones, a conversion kit would greatly improve transport problems.
What was your intention for this question?

sincerely

Andreas Esser

[Jerryn Joy]

Hi Andreas,
Thanks for answering.
I wanted to know if there is an option to use two wheeler for daily purposes for the various advantages you mentioned which runs on hydrogen. So that it is carbon neutral and affordable. Since in other countries the main mode of transportation is a two wheeler than cars.
But as you said a conversion kit is much more an affordable option for such countries and also reduce emmisions.

[Andreas Esser]

https://youtu.be/qMfwJK31QAg?t=41

kawasaki hydrogen combustion motorbike

[Joseph Lawrie]

Its certainly possible, but presently not particularly popular. I believe that hydrogen technology will really struggle to become economic most use cases for light vehicles.

That being said there’s interest in hydrogen combustion from motorcyclists and some manufacturers (see the post from Andreas Esser above), in part to retain the sensation of a combustion engine in the riding experience.

I think this is interesting and perhaps some people would pay for the ‘combustion engine experience’ in a zero-emission vehicle, but I’m not convinced that people who are just needing to get from A to B quickly, safely and cheaply would care that much about this.

I’m curious, what do you think?

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There’s a bit of history for two wheelers which I can share to back up the consensus of this thread (so far) that it’s possible. Perhaps you’re familiar with these examples, but if not perhaps there’s something of interest to take a look at here.
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The Met Police in London trialled a fuel cell powered commuter scooter made by Suzuki back in 2017.

For more info: https://bikes.suzuki.co.uk/news/suzuki-hydrogen-fuel-cell-burgman-trialled-by-met-police/

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A few years before this Suzuki collaborated with Intelligent Energy, a fuel cell manufacturer from the UK. From what I’ve read that was about an air-cooled fuel cell, which for light vehicles with small power requirements helps to keep the weight and complexity down, just like the air cooled combustion engines seen on scooters.

For more info: https://eepower.com/news/intelligent-energy-and-suzuki-collaborate-on-3-9kw-fuel-cell/#

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Similar to Roy Niekerk’s post above there’s been increasing interest in ‘e-bikes’ incorporating small fuel cells to compliment or replace battery packs.

Another example which appears to offer ‘hydrid lithium-ion and metal hydride storage solution’ which is quite unique and perhaps could help small vehicles enjoy ‘the best of both worlds’.

For more info: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/studio-mom-designs-hydrogen-powered-lavo-bike-technology/

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[Andreas Esser]

thanks, very interesting.