Development of the scooter equipped with a hydrogen-powered ICE engine continues: is this the future? Meanwhile, Suzuki revises the position of the tank
August 12, 2024
There is a lot of excitement around the possibility of using hydrogen as fuel for internal combustion engines: its environmental performance is excellent (harmful emissions around zero, but a commentary on gas production should be made to have a more complete picture) and the performance of engines that would continue to exist in forms very similar to those we have been used to seeing for many decades now is good. If Kawasaki dynamically presented its hydrogen-powered prototype at the Suzuka 8 Hours, Suzuki had already brought its Burgman scooter equipped with an internal combustion engine and also powered by hydrogen to the Tokyo Mobility Show a year ago.
It should be noted that Suzuki, as part of its overall strategy aimed at environmental sustainability in the automotive sector, is using an eclectic approach that sees multiple strategies converging on different technologies depending on the type of application. Regarding two-wheel mobility, Suzuki has presented some electric scooters (including the interesting Burgman electric) but – also given its participation in the Hyse consortium – its research is also focused on hydrogen.
On this topic, our colleagues at Cycleworld have uncovered some patents that concern the very prototype of the Burgman 400 hydrogen that we saw in Tokyo: in that model the fuel tank was placed under the footboard and its size made it necessary to reposition the engine/transmission unit by moving it away by 7 centimetres to create the space needed to house it. A significant lengthening of the wheelbase (with related effects on driving dynamics) and a complication. Now, according to patents found online, Suzuki has found a way to leave the chassis layout unchanged, thanks to the splitting of the tank into two units: the first placed inside the front shield, the second under the saddle.
Hydrogen tanks are one of the challenges that await this technology applied to motorcycles and two-wheelers in general. The low density of hydrogen, the very high pressure at which it must be stored inside the vehicle, the necessary robustness of the tanks and the search for adequate autonomy are still issues to be developed by the manufacturers involved in this research towards environmental sustainability.
