Big 4 Japanese Manufacturers Unveil Plans to develop Hydrogen-Powered Engines

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has approved the big four Japanese manufacturers – Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda – to form a research association named HySE (Hydrogen Small mobility and Engine technology) to develop hydrogen-powered engines for small mobility vehicles.

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There is no mention of two-wheelers but the manufacturers’ expertise and the use of the words “small mobility vehicles” indicates a preference towards two-wheelers. HySE has also described the research and responsibilities of each brand: Honda will be responsible for research and development of model-based hydrogen-powered engines; Suzuki will manage the functionality, performance and reliability of said hydrogen-powered engines; while Yamaha and Kawasaki wil briefly focus on the research using real prototype hydrogen-powered engines to check their functionality, performance and long-term usability.

Yamaha will also study and develop refueling systems from hydrogen tanks, while Kawasaki will research and develop the fuel tanks and injectors necessary for fuel supply. Along with these four companies, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Toyota Motor Corporation will also contribute to this project. Given that Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a prime co-ordinator of the CO2-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-chain Technology Research Association(HySTRA), it will carry learnings from HySE to HySTRA’s activities as well. On the other side Toyota will leverage HySE’s learnings to maximise their potential by analysing and designing experiments to develop bigger hydrogen-fuelled engines for use in four-wheelers.

Now the use of hydrogen as a fuel poses some technical challenges, including high flammability and wider region of ignition that causes unstable combustion, which can be a challenge with the limited fuel capacity of smaller fuel tanks. These Japanese manufacturers have committed towards solving them with their in-depth knowledge of gasoline-powered engines. With this collaboration, these Japanese manufacturers are quite optimistic on building a range of hydrogen-powered small capacity engines, with the end goal of building a carbon-neutral society.