Kawasaki hydrogen ICE motorcycle gets first public outing.
Last month at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka City, Kawasaki Motors held the world’s first public demonstration run of a hydrogen ICE (internal combustion engine) motorcycle made by a mass-production motorcycle manufacturer. The hydrogen ICE motorcycle was designed and built as part of research that began in March 2023, with test runs starting this year and culminating in this public demonstration run.
The machine is powered by a hydrogen engine based on the 998cm3 in-line four-cylinder supercharged engine used in Kawasaki’s Ninja H2 motorcycle, but with modifications to allow direct injection of hydrogen fuel into the cylinders. The motorcycle’s chassis was reconfigured to accommodate an onboard hydrogen fuel supply system.
Hydrogen ICE motorcycles run on hydrogen combustion, producing the ‘rumble and pulsating sensation that riders expect when twisting the throttle’ but emit mainly water. As part of its carbon-neutral initiative, Kawasaki Motors is currently conducting research and development with the aim of realising — in the early 2030s — a functioning hydrogen ICE motorcycle as one carbon-neutral option for riders.
Kawasaki Motors is a full member of HySE (Hydrogen Small mobility and Engine technology), a research association focused on hydrogen technology that is actively conducting basic research on hydrogen engines, hydrogen filling systems, and fuel supply systems, in order to produce hydrogen-powered small mobility vehicles, including motorcycles.
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Kawasaki hydrogen ICE motorcycle gets first public outing. source
