Kawasaki's liquid hydrogen study

Submitted by Jo on Fri, 01/20/2023 - 15:22

Kawasaki explores liquid hydrogen

Manufacturers are exploring a number of options for powertrains that use alternative, non-fossil energy. Battery powered motorcycles have been around for a while but there are better solutions.
Kawasaki is exploring the possibility of using liquid hydrogen as a green fuel and has already made significant progress.

Ninja H2 as ProtoType

Since a hydrogen engine is mechanically very similar to an internal combustion engine, the powertrain installed on this prototype is based on the supercharged unit of the Ninja H2, which in this case is combined with a gas injection system.
 

Safety first

However, in addition to the technical issues related to the engine block, the problem of how to safely transport liquid hydrogen remains. Hydrogen is a fuel that is stored under very high pressure.
This prototype uses five small and robust liquid hydrogen cartridges, which are housed in one of the two side cases, which also provides additional protection.

Kawasaki has taken a new direction and this is underlined by the use of the color blue for certain details: cylinder head and exhaust cowl, front fork and turbo.
It should remind us that this is about clean energy.