Some motorcycle manufacturers are finally saying out loud what many have silently thought for some time: For full-sized motorcycles, batteries will not be the near-term future. Triumph\u2019s Steve Sargent recently cautioned the entire industry to understand both \u201cthe capabilities and also the limitations\u201d of electric motorcycles, telling Crash.net that \u201cThe thing that drives me a little bit crazy is all of these start-up companies who come out and say \u2018we\u2019ve got an electric motorcycle that will do 300 km [on a single charge]\u2019. Unless you\u2019ve reinvented the laws of physics and chemistry, that\u2019s not going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nor is Triumph the only one questioning whether motorcycling\u2019s zero-emission future will be completely battery-powered. KTM\u2019s motorsports director, Pit Beirer, was recently quoted as saying that batteries are not the \u201cnear-future\u201d of motorcycles. While he did say that KTM does have a \u201cclear commitment\u201d to replacing smaller engines \u2014 like 100-cc commuters \u2014 he said \u201cWe see still the combustion engine as the solution in the near future. We don\u2019t see that the technology is on the table at the moment to transfer mass production bikes into something like battery [powered] motorcycles.\u201d<\/p>\n
The problem is weight. As The Last Word has detailed, getting an electric motorcycle to the same power-to-weight ratio as a fossil-fueled superbike will require improvements in energy density beyond even what solid-state batteries \u2014 or indeed any other chemistry envisaged for the future \u2014 can hope to accomplish. An electric adventure bike with the range of a typical fossil-fueled motorcycle would probably weigh over 800 pounds. Nor are the swappable batteries promised for scooters a solution. They\u2019re far too small to power a full-sized motorcycle and anything with enough energy to fuel a big bike would be too heavy to swap.<\/p>\n
So, what is in motorcycling\u2019s zero-emissions future?<\/p>\n
Sustainable fuels; fuels that, by their nature or origin, reduce or replace the carbon emitted from piston engines. The most obvious are biofuels. Indeed, Triumph\u2019s Sargent says that the company\u2019s 765-cc Moto2 race engines might be running on E40 as soon as 2024 and could move to E100 by 2027. However, while moving to ethanol would reduce carbon emissions, it would not eradicate CO2 from motorcycle exhaust. Said ethanol would also put an incredible strain on the agriculture industry, an already controversial issue. As a short-term solution for new bikes, biofuels show some promise; as a long-term alternative for all motorcycles, not so much.<\/p>\n
Another possibility for greener fuel is hydrogen. Although best known \u2014 and most efficiently used \u2014 in fuel cells, hydrogen can be used to power internal combustion engines. Doing so eliminates carbon emissions and what pollutants remain \u2014 like NOx \u2014 are easily contained. In other words, nothing much bad comes out the tailpipe. And converting gas engines to hydrogen is a known technology: BMW developed a piston-powered Hydrogen 7 sedan back in 2005 \u2014 this author drove it \u2014 and Toyota is currently campaigning a hydrogen-fueled 1.5L turbocharged inline three in Japan\u2019s Super Taikyu Series racing series.<\/p>\n
Hydrogen-powered piston engines\u2019 big bugaboo is that they are not very efficient. While a fuel cell-powered vehicle can easily exceed a BEV\u2019s range, an ICE-powered car fueled by H2 is limited in range. In other words, a hydrogen-powered Kawasaki H2 \u2014 they\u2019ve been working on such an animal \u2014 might be lucky to eke out 125 km of range. While that\u2019s not good, it would only take a couple of minutes to refuel, not the eons EVs require. Nor is there a hydrogen refueling network, though truck companies are looking to build their own chain of hydrogen stations much as Tesla did with Superchargers.<\/p>\n
By far the most promising sustainable fuel available is synthetic gasoline. Essentially, water is electrolyzed into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen, carbon is captured from the air and then all three are combined to form gasoline. Although the engine would still emit greenhouse gasses, all the CO2 emitted would have been previously taken from the atmosphere. As long as the energy used in the electrolysis and carbon capture processes is \u201cgreen,\u201d the result would be net zero internal combustion.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly what Porsche is doing in Punta Arenas. Using the hostile climatic conditions of the southernmost tip of Chile, the company\u2019s pilot plant is powered by zero-emission windmills. Currently, the project is scheduled to only produce 130,000 litres of fuel, but eventually, Porsche says, it will make enough to power all new 911s.<\/p>\n
Synthetic gasoline would be an ideal solution save for two issues. First, it is energy intensive to electrolyze water and capture carbon. That will make synthetic gas expensive. How expensive? Though uncompetitive now, optimistic projections say pricing could eventually get down to two bucks a litre\u2026. Without taxes.<\/p>\n
And that brings us to syngas\u2019 second problem: governments. If seen as a legitimate zero-emission alternative and left untaxed, syngas has a real chance. Two bucks, after all, is not much more expensive than what we are currently paying. If bureaucrats ignore the emissions-reducing evidence and tax it as regular gas, however, that would likely price it out of the realm of anyone other than supercar pilots and rich classic bike owners.<\/p>\n
Those who believe that batteries are our only salvation are, of course, against such a tax break. On the other hand, providing a net-zero solution for the millions of cars that will be on the road long after new internal combustion cars are banned would seem a no-brainer. The biggest problem is that no one ever accused politicians \u2014 or, for that matter, environmentalists \u2014 of being smart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some motorcycle manufacturers are finally saying out loud what many have silently thought for some time: For full-sized motorcycles, batteries will not be the near-term future. Triumph\u2019s Steve Sargent recently cautioned the entire industry to understand both \u201cthe capabilities and also the limitations\u201d of electric motorcycles, telling Crash.net that \u201cThe thing that drives me a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2422,1876],"tags":[2430,2252,2431],"yoast_head":"\n