Let's not forget the Crosscage, the hydrogen-powered motorcycle coming from Suzuki
Remember the Crosscage, the Suzuki motorcycle that runs on hydrogen? Intelligent Energy, a company based in the British Midlands, wants to make sure that we not only keep the vehicle in mind, but also know that the UK company had something to do with it. In a press release out yesterday, the British Midlands Development Corporation says that:The motorcycle, which runs in almost complete silence and emits pure water, is a joint venture between British Midlands based company, Intelligent Energy, the UK's leading commercial developer of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell technology and the Japanese motorcycle and scooter giant.
We're not the type to miss Intelligent Energy, which is supplying the fuel cell technology for the Crosscage. The company also makes the ENV bike (Oh, and as a curious aside, I just wanted to note that the company devoted to promoting work being done in the British Midlands is based in Chicago).
[Source: British Midlands Development Corporation]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TX CHL Instructor 9:22PM (11/28/2007)
Using hydrogen to power a car is insanely stupid. Using it to power a motorcycle isn't any brighter. Hydrogen is the fuel for people who can freely spend other people's money, or who have a lot more money than sense.
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Chris M 9:34PM (11/28/2007)
We haven't forgotten it, but this is just a concept bike, with no plans to produce it for sale. Since it would have to compete with electric bikes already on the market with similar performance, much lower prices, cheaper "fuel" and a much more extensive recharging infrastructure, the Crosscage is unlikely to ever be produced.
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regguy 9:49AM (11/29/2007)
TX CHL instructor: your comments are insanely stupid and lacking in background or merit.
State your basis or go away.
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Craig 3:49PM (12/11/2007)
To TX CHL: The only thing that causes hydrogen to have costs around gasoline is transportation. However, there is already major development in on-site development of hydrogen gas (e.g. Electrolysis Machines). This will allow only an input of water and out comes hydrogen to go straight into cars. Making transportation of fuel obsolete. Whats next? Are you going to say water prices are much higher than gasoline?
For Chris M: You could be right that the crosscage might never be produced. But, you should know that many of the major car companies have built hydrogen fuel cell cars that are on the roads today. However, they are in limited quantity and locations. California is one of the main areas for hydrogen cars because I believe they have around 20 hydrogen fueling stations.
http://www.cafcp.org/fuel-vehl_map.html
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Chris M 6:08PM (12/11/2007)
To Craig: While transportation would add to the cost of H2, just as it does to other fuels, the major H2 cost is producing and compressing or liquifying the bulky H2 gas for storage. The cheapest source of H2 is from steam reformed natural gas, and that is the main "on site" method of supply. A Kg of H2 generated on-site from natural gas costs much more than a gallon of gasoline. H2 can only become price competitive to gasoline if used in highly efficient fuel cell vehicles and the cheapest source is used and H2 remains tax free and the price of gasoline goes over $4 per gallon. On the other hand, driving on electricity is already less than 1/4 the cost of driving on gasoline, and that cost advantage is likely to increase.
Since the efficiency of electrolysis and storage and fuel cells is below 25%, and the efficiency of charger and batteries is 85%, H2 fuel can never be price competitive with electricity. While there are 20 H2 fueling stations in California, most are not open to the public, and that number pales in comparision to the millions of electrical outlets available everywhere. The future is electric.
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