Yamaha Electric Motorcycle

Yamaha showed a new fuel cell scooter at this week’s 22nd International Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition (EVS22), in Yokohama, Japan. Though only a prototype, it shows things can go a long way in a year. Yamaha has been developing fuel cell technology for 20 years, and this time last year it was proudly showing it’s FC-ME (wouldn’t you think such a clever company would get a Western-savvy marketing exec to vet their names), a lightweight machine powered by Yamaha’s Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) system, and with the performance of a 50cc scooter. This year the FC-AQEL hydrogen fuel cell scooter prototype has 125cc class performance – though no power figures have been quoted, that’s at least a 100 percent increase over last year’s best and enough grunt to make the FC-AQEL viable in most global markets. Now all we need is a hydrogen infrastructure.

The FC-AQEL mates Yamaha-developed electric drive and control technologies with its Hydrogen Fuel Cell System. The hybrid system with a secondary battery boasts high efficiency and power output, while the use of metal separators in the fuel cell enables a more compact, lightweight design. The system's two high-pressure (35Mpa) fuel tanks aim to provide ample running distance. The drive unit utilizes the ultra-thin Yamaha Integrated Power Unit (YIPU) technology developed for the company’s electric commuter vehicles and, by designing a drive system that mounts an ultra-flat brushless DC motor, a super-small controller unit and the planetary gearing all into the rear hub, a compact design has been achieved. This is all integrated into the swinging arm design, in a similar way that scooters integrate gas-engined powerplants. The result is a model that combines solid power output and compactness without sacrificing any of the convenience and ease of handling people expect in a motorcycle.

The FC-AQEL was developed with the aims of advancing environmental technologies and creating a new motorcycle market sector and YMC plans to continue the development of its "Yamaha Hydrogen Fuel Cell System" and "Yamaha Direct Methanol Fuel Cell System" and research and development for fuel cell motorcycles.

Just for the records, the FC-AQEL was derived using the FC from Fuel Cell and AQEL for water (AcQua), and Electric.

By http://www.gizmag.com/go/6404/

Honda Electric Motorcycle

There are exciting plans in the works on the environmental technology front with the announcement by Honda’s President and CEO, Takeo Fukui, that the company is currently developing a battery-powered electric motorcycle which emits no CO2 during operation.

According to Fukui, in order for Honda to sustain its business during the next 100 years of the automotive industry, the company will further strengthen its ability to continue advancing environmental technologies and to apply them to creative and attractive products.

Honda believes the characteristics of a battery can be better utilized in the area of motorcycles, which are often used for short distance travel.

In the pursuit of advanced environmental technologies for motorcycles, Honda has been developing and releasing products that use energy sources other than gasoline for quite some time. In fact, Honda has been developing electricity-powered scooters since the latter half of the 1980s.

In 2004, Honda unveiled a fuel cell scooter prototype in addition to the hybrid scooter and electric moped developed as prototypes for eventual mass production. The Honda FC Stack, which was originally used in automobiles, was applied to the fuel cell scooter, after being made lighter and more compact to be the optimal size for scooters.

The 50 cc hybrid scooter prototype employs both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor and provides ample storage space.

The electric moped has a built-in 360kW light nickel hydrogen battery inside an aluminium frame. Being powerful enough to climb a 12-degree incline, the electric moped offers performance comparable to that of a gasoline-powered moped.

Honda is aiming to introduce the fully electric motorcycle to the market in approximately two years and envisages it could be viable for commercial as well as individual applications.

By http://bikerholic.com/2009/01/09/electric-motorcycle-for-honda-by-2010/