Hydrogen-powered bikes: with 34 grams they do 100 km and the fuel is prepared at home

15 September 2023

Hydrogen has been an energy dream, not since yesterday but for many years now. It is an infinite source of cheap, clean energy that does not produce carbon dioxide as it burns. Not only that: the use of hydrogen could free the world from the need for lithium and rare earths for battery production, freeing the West from the Chinese mining monopoly. Electric vehicles are in fact powered by batteries while hydrogen vehicles only have a fuel cell and a tank for the liquid gas. 
The choice of hydrogen therefore seems a viable path, at least theoretically, and we emphasise the 'theoretical', because the problems, both at the technological level (the creation of hydrogen itself) and at the distribution level, are still on the table.It goes without saying that for the whole process to be coherent, hydrogen production must also be carried out with sustainable energy, creating a virtuous circle. That said, the question remains the same: when will we have a production, storage and distribution technology that will make hydrogen truly competitive with fossil fuels? The world, however, can be changed from below. Even with a bicycle. Hydrogen bicycles are becoming a reality, even in Italy. How does it work? If on the frame of a common e-Bike there is a lithium battery, on that of some 'special bikes' there is a 'water bottle' full of liquid hydrogen that you yourself might have produced at home. Therein lies the crux of the matter: many companies are developing small home systems for the production and storage of hydrogen 'for personal use', safe and small equipment, no bigger than a trolley bag.

This is the case of the Chinese Youon, which markets a container weighing 18 kg, with a 40-litre tank that activates the electrolysis process and produces liquid hydrogen. This system, which runs on solar energy, is complementary to a citybike (which in South East Asia has been sold to several metropolises to cover the sharing service). The tank is filled in just 10 seconds while the bike reaches 23 km/h and has a range of 50-60 km. The prices seem to be competitive: some specialised sales outlets (such as Remoove in Arco, in the province of Trento) are taking orders that could be fulfilled in a few months for bicycles around 2,500/3,000 euro, with practically no recharging costs.

Similarly, the German industrial automation company Linde has developed a bicycle with similar characteristics whose electrolysis system, installed in public roadside towers, uses wind energy or biogas instead: 34 grams of hydrogen allow 100 km of autonomy.

The French Alpha Neo, production of which began only three months ago but which has already enjoyed some pre-sales success, is aesthetically very pleasing and functional but plans to be fuelled only at filling stations, which incidentally in Italy are only two - one in Bolzano and one in Mestre.

And while Norway is preparing to put into operation the world's largest electrolyser (the Herøya plant recently assembled and installed the HydrogenPro electrolyser and will produce 100 kg of pure hydrogen per hour for industrial purposes, from refining hydrocarbons to fertiliser production), Toyota believes in small sizes: in partnership with Woven Planet Holdings, it has developed a prototype of a portable hydrogen cartridge measuring 40 cm x 18 cm with the aim of facilitating its transport (it weighs only 5 kg) and use. Such a mini-bottle, which could also be used on a scooter, would allow hydrogen to be used for all kinds of minor electrical devices and would also bring energy to places that are difficult to reach, such as during an emergency. 


Read the full article on: https://www.corriere.it/tecnologia/23_settembre_15/le-bici-con-motori-a-idrogeno-con-34-grammi-fanno-100-km-e-il-combustibile-si-prepara-a-casa-d1e49bbf-f3db-4dff-945c-a966e313bxlk.shtml