The road to a carbon neutral future cannot be a single lane designed around only one propulsion technology. This much is clear in an industry going through the biggest change since its birth over a century ago. Manufacturers are trying various approaches towards achieving a more sustainable future and Suzuki has just given us a peek at one such technology.
Suzuki Japan has shared an image and a few details of a hydrogen powered Burgman scooter that will be unveiled at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show in late October. The scooter does not use fuel cell technology as seen in many hydrogen powered cars where hydrogen reacts with oxygen to create electricity (with pure water as the only by-product) which powers the wheels through an electric motor. Instead, the hydrogen Burgman continues to use an internal combustion engine.
The difference is that this engine runs on hydrogen instead of petrol. Among the very few details that have been released are that the scooter gets a 70Mpa (10,153PSI) hydrogen fuel tank.
The technology is being developed on a Burgman 400 and Suzuki says that it is only a technical exhibit with no plans for a commercial launch.
A hydrogen-powered combustion engine is not a new concept and many manufacturers are already investigating the technology, particularly in the heavy equipment industry where batteries end up being too big and heavy for the application. However, this is one of the first hydrogen powered scooters that we have seen so far.
More details will be revealed at the Suzuki stall when the scooter is displayed at the show from 26 Oct to 5 Nov.