Ninja H2 HySE (hydrogen motorcycle)

2023: Product Announcement

On December 12, 2023, the Japanese corporation Kawasaki introduced the Ninja H2 HySE motorcycle - the world's first sports bike equipped with a hydrogen power plant. The used unit has a zero level of emissions of harmful gases into the atmosphere.

It is noted that electrification in the motorcycle segment is relatively slow. As of the end of 2023, such bikes are not able to fully compete with traditional models in terms of range when driving at high speeds, ease of refueling, weight and mass distribution. Some of these problems can be solved by switching to hydrogen. It surpasses conventional batteries in energy density, and refueling happens as quickly as filling a tank with gasoline.

Ninja H2 HySE

When using hydrogen, fuel cells can be used to subsequently power the electric motor or a specially modified internal combustion engine, as in the case of Ninja H2 HySE. The motorcycle is equipped with a modified four-cylinder supercharged H2 inline unit, which in the regular version has a volume of 999 cubic centimeters.

The problem is that when ICE operates on hydrogen, a much larger volume of air is required - about twice as much as when using gasoline. Kawasaki engineers managed to overcome this obstacle by using the world's only serial supercharger motorcycles operating at a speed of 130 thousand revolutions per minute. I also had to make changes to the design of the bike: two rigid boxes were installed, which contain high-pressure cylinders for storing hydrogen. As of the end of 2023, Kawasaki Corporation does not disclose what range the Ninja H2 HySE has on one hydrogen refueling and what maximum speed this bike is capable of developing.^[1]

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