Les Echos–The hydrogen motorcycle prototyped by H2 Motronics in the agglomeration of Nevers (Nièvre), will be 25% lighter but twice as autonomous as a 100% electric competition bike.
Called “H2K”, this motorcycle with a fuel cell without giving up on performance was designed by the Texys design office as a demonstrator of technology adapted to light mobility. The prototype is expected to be presented in spring 2022 in real conditions.
This is what Emmanuel Esnault, CEO of the Niverne company Texys Group and its subsidiary H2 Motronics, is aiming to unveil this little gem of technology in the spring of 2022, after two successful test campaigns at the FC-Lab in Belfort. It is designed by car designer Stéphane Valdant.
The car has the ambition to reach the performance level of the 3 motorcycles – 98 seconds on a 4-kilometer circuit like the one in Valencia, Spain – by embarking all the components of hydrogen propulsion: a fuel cell, a 23-liter tank, a compressor, a humidifier and control instruments.
Emmanuel Esnault.
As well as an electric battery since the bike will have a hybrid engine.
The hydrogen solution had been blown to H2 Motronics by Vehicle of the Future. Thanks for keeping up to date with Hydrogen Central. The competitiveness cluster is one of the partners, with Isat and Tecmas Racing Team, of this project launched in 2019 and which required more than one million euros of investment, with a support of local authorities of about 50%.
Dubbed “H2K”, the prototype was designed as a demonstrator of fuel cell technology adapted to light mobility, the platform of a motorcycle being the most restrictive in terms of volumes.
“Our business is in miniaturization and we wanted to break the received ideas,” adds the boss of the group whose objective, then, is to attack the markets light mobility on land, at sea or in the air. Those of microlights, drones, river shuttles, snowmobiles… A fundraising of 1.5 million euros has just been launched to launch the post-demonstrator stage.
The H2Motronics design office employs five people and was born in 2019 from the desire of the president of Texys Group, Philippe Leuwers, to carry out external projects in the stimulating framework of the Start-up Incubator of Nevers.
The group specialises in on-board measurement and sensors for motor racing, aeronautics and research centres. It employs 45 people and generates €5 million in turnover, 70% of which is exported.
Source: Les Echos
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