Hydrogen Bikes. Yamaha and Kawasaki Collaborate on New Motorcycle Engine

 


This is already sounding too good to be true. Two of Japan's top motorcycle makers are developing a hydrogen-fueled engine for future bikes.

Hydrogen is seen as a clean fuel for internal combustion. Instead of CO2, it emits H2O, water.

There's a snag.  Kawasaki has even launched its own liquid hydrogen carrier, the Suiso Frontier. It will be hauling "Brown Hydrogen" from Australia.

You might have heard of Green Hydrogen. Brown hydrogen is a little different. It is produced from the gassification of brown coal, the really dirty stuff. When gasified brown coal gives off hydrogen but it also gives off tons of CO2 and CO, potent greenhouse gases.

Using black coal or lignite (brown coal) in the hydrogen-making process, these black and brown hydrogen are the absolute opposite of green hydrogen in the hydrogen spectrum and the most environmentally damaging.

So you've got a diesel-powered ship that transits between Japan and Australia. You have brown coal that has to be gasified, requiring plenty of energy. Then you have not just hydrogen but carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions. It's a process that is not only energy-intensive but also produces plenty of greenhouse gas emissions.

This sounds like charging your Tesla with electricity from a coal-powered generator. Huh?

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