Kawasaki appears set on pioneering alternatively-powered bikes for a new age of motorcycling. After announcing its plans for a hybrid and all-electric lineup by 2035, Team Green followed it by letting slip its goal to produce a hydrogen-powered model.
The hydrogen motor could be based on Kawasaki's prototype dual-injection H2 engine. For now, the showcased prototype runs on gas and not hydrogen, but reports claim that it's a step toward the goal. If successful, the engine could retain the power and thrill of an internal combustion engine with none of the emissions.
Many have found it hard to embrace electric motorcycles due to their relatively quiet running state and stark differences from conventional gas engines. With hydrogen now in the picture, Kawasaki could offer skeptics the best of both worlds.
What makes hydrogen a viable option? For starters, it produces much lower emissions than fossil fuels. When hydrogen is ignited, it becomes water. That alone spells good news for the technology, as what would come out of the exhaust would be comparatively harmless water vapor.
To this end, Kawasaki has released a sneak peek of what it believes a hydrogen-powered motorcycle could look like in the future. The bike looks very similar to the H2 SX, the touring version of the Ninja H2 1000.
While hydrogen offers many advantages over gasoline and electric engines, it's not without its challenges. Kawasaki would have to pioneer more than just hydrogen power plants, but it would have to build an entire ecosystem based on it. Building hydrogen refueling stations is the biggest concern, and whether or not they become common can make or break the technology.
Kawasaki has not disclosed a release date for its future hydrogen-powered bike. We can speculate that it will come around the same time as the company's electrified models, or sometime before 2035.
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