Hydrogen-Powered Motorcycles

Recently, a British tech company named Intelligent Energy (among other companies) has been showing some promising work on new hydrogen fuel cell powered motorcycles. These bikes, called Emmision Neutral Vehicles (ENV) boast silent engines, low fuel cost, lack of emissions, and portable fuel cells and could lead to some exciting future technology.

How Do Hydrogen Powered Vehicles Work?

The ENV runs on the principle of reverse electrolysis. Electrolysis is when an electric current is run through water to produce hydrogen and oxygen. Thus, reverse electrolysis (in terms of hydrogen powered vehicles) is when hydrogen and oxygen are joined to make water and electricity. Instead of pollutants being emitted from these vehicles, water is. The fuel cell is where this reverse electrolysis occurs. To get technical, the fuel cell is filled with hydrogen fuel which is broken down into positive ions, and negative electrons. The positive ions are filtered through an electrolyte, which leaves only the electrons. The electrons are then converted to electricity. Once they complete the cycle, the electrons rejoin with the filtered ions and oxygen, and the water emission is produced. The fuel cell is currently a portable, briefcase-like container, and developers hope that when more and more vehicles adopt this technology, a standard fuel cell can be used interchangeably among them.

Silent Engines

Due to no combustion and no moving parts in the engines, ENV's are silent. This presents both a pro and a con for these new vehicles. Running as silently as an actual bicycle, these bikes will greatly decrease noise on the road. However, for obvious reasons this silence could increase accidents. Currently, developers are actually working on making the engines noisier. Unfortunately, even with a fake engine sound (that could be increased and decreased at will), the silent engine could still deter potential buyers. Many motorcyclists are quite keen on the feeling of speed and power, and the engine noise is certainly a factor in that.

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