SUZUKA, Mie Prefecture—Kawasaki Motors Ltd. is kickstarting the future with its sleek futuristic-looking motorcycle that is powered by hydrogen but still offers a familiar ride as well as being more environmentally friendly.

The Japanese motorcycle manufacturer showcased the world's first hydrogen-powered motorcycle at an event during the Suzuka 8 Hours Road Race held here on July 20.

The Ninja H2 SX, which is equipped with a fuel tank loaded with hydrogen mounted behind the seat, turned heads at the Suzuka Circuit race track. 

The hydrogen engine burns fuel nine times faster than gasoline-powered engines.

Because hydrogen burns with a small amount of air, hydrogen engines offer a smoother response during acceleration.

Currently, vehicular electrification of automobiles is also being done for motorcycles.

Motorcycles powered by electric motors have already appeared on the market but there still are motorbike enthusiasts who love the revving sounds and ride vibrations associated with gasoline engines.

The silent electric motorcycles do not offer the same riding experience. 

On the other hand, hydrogen engines, which have the same mechanism as gasoline engines, provide a similar ride but without leaving an ecological footprint.

Kawasaki Motors aims for completing electrification of its major models by 2035, but it faces difficulty in securing the necessary production facilities.

However, in the case of a hydrogen-fueled engine, it can utilize the techniques and production facilities formerly used for gasoline engine models.

But practical use of hydrogen engines still faces obstacles.

Because hydrogen tends to ignite much more easily than gasolines, there is a risk of an unexpected abnormal combustion inside the engine.

Another issue is how to mount the larger fuel tank compared to a gasoline tank on the vehicle.

To mount the hydrogen fuel tank, the specially made model can have no luggage rack on the rear.

Relevant laws need to be amended for the hydrogen-fueled motorcycles to run on public roads, although they can operate on private roads including circuit tracks like it did for the introductory event. 

To obtain type approval necessary for mass production, related laws have to be amended, too.

The fuel capacity for the hydrogen motorcycles does not comply with the mandated standard for large motorcycles.

Yoshimoto Matsuda, executive officer at Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., parent company of Kawasaki Motors, said that worldwide regulations and standards need to be established for hydrogen engine motorbikes.

The four major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, Honda Motor Co., Yamaha Motor Co., Suzuki Motor Co. and Kawasaki, founded an institution for the research and development of hydrogen engines.

They hope to pave the road for resolving various issues and utilize the engine for small road vehicles such as motorcycles.

“The research is only at an initial stage. A hydrogen engine is only one of the answers,” said Satoaki Ichi, head of the development division at Kawasaki Motors.

Some people in the industry say the feasibility of hydrogen engines is at a stage where they still cannot be evaluated for their practicality. 

Each motorcycle manufacturer has each different strategies for incorporating hydrogen engines into their lineups.

Among these, Kawasaki is the only one which has set a time frame to have them in practical use by the early 2030s.

Kawasaki's sales for fiscal 2023, which primarily focus on large and high-priced models, is the smallest among the four major companies, at 321.3 billion yen ($2.21 billion). That amount is only 10 percent of the sales of Honda, the largest among the four.

So, Kawasaki Motors, along with its parent company, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., is trying to increase its presence by focusing on the use of hydrogen.

HYDROGEN ENGINES SPREADING

After combustion, hydrogen is converted into water without releasing CO2, resulting in lower emissions.

Meanwhile, state-of-the-art technologies are needed to store hydrogen and fill vehicles up with the clean fuel.

Expensive procurement costs are also an issue for spreading the use of the gaseous substance. 

Hydrogen engines have been developed along with fuel cell batteries, which generate power from the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.

Toyota Motor Corp. aims for launching automobiles equipped with hydrogen-fueled engines. These hydrogen engines are also being developed for practical use by ships.

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) announced last year that it will tackle the development of hydrogen engines for trains.

In the future, it is expected that hydrogen engines will one day be utilized to power airplanes as well.