ARE HYDROGEN ENGINES THE FUTURE ?

WHAT IS A HYDROGEN ENGINE  ? 

Hydrogen engines are powered by low-purity hydrogen, making the engines durable, economical and energy-dense, this makes them a more suitable engine system for not only mid-large sized vehicles but for vehicles that will be travelling long distances.

A single charge of 10 minutes allows your vehicle to travel a distance of up to 500 km, hydrogen engines are also 25-30% more economical than fuel cells or battery packs when vehicle price and maintenance costs are taken into consideration. 

There are many benefits to hydrogen engines, one of the main ones being that it doesn’t emit any vehicle emissions; all that it emits is water vapour. Another being that hydrogen is more powerful and energy efficient than fossil fuels. These facts make it obvious why hydrogen seems to be the future especially with the need for everyone to decrease their carbon footprint ! 

ARE HYDROGEN ENGINES THE FUTURE ? 

After recently publishing an article on JCB’s quest for the production of Hydrogen engine, JCB had invested £100m investment to develop their hydrogen internal engine which put JCB as the forerunner in the successful roll out of efficient engine technology. We have now discovered that Hyundai Doosan Infracore also known as HDI are planning to mass produce hydrogen engines.

HDI are accelerating their engine development after finishing the design of its hydrogen internal combustion engines and are rolling out the prototype this year ! HDI then aims for the engine to be validated on vehicles by 2024 and finally a full-scale mass production by 2025 and HDI thinks this time scale will be definite. 

HDI’s Head of the Engine Department, Kim Joong-soo has commented on the hydrogen engine stating that “Hydrogen internal combustion engines will be used in mid-to-large-sized commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses and construction equipment and mid-to-large-sized power generators. We will put in the utmost effort to realise carbon neutrality in response to the eco-friendly market by developing green hydrogen-related technologies in line with increasingly strict carbon emission regulations.”

WHAT DOES HDI’S HYDROGEN ENGINE LOOK LIKE ? 

The hydrogen engine under development by HDI is an 11-litre class engine that produces a power output of 300 kW (402 HP) and a torque of 1700 Nm at 2000 RPM. It satisfies Tier 5 / Stage 5 / Euro 7 regulations which require the emission to be 90% reduced to the current level to meet Zero CO₂ (below 1g/kwh) and Zero Impact Emission (Zero Emission in EU).

WHAT IS HDI’S PLAN ? 

HDI plans to leverage its existing engine technology and facilities to reduce costs and accelerate commercialization. The new hydrogen engines will be installed on commercial vehicles such as trucks and large buses, and construction equipment for validation by 2024, and full-scale mass production is planned for 2025. HDI will showcase various products including H2ICE, EV battery packs and plug-in full hybrid powertrains at the CONEXPO 2023 to be held in the U.S. in March. HDI’s Engine Department booth will be located at S84044 on the 2^nd floor of the South Hall.