Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE on-road showing in Norway
Mazda and Hydrogen powered vehicles
Fifteen years of Mazda research into hydrogen vehicles
Mazda's interest in hydrogen vehicles covers a span of 15 years: the first prototype, the HR-X, was presented at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show. Even back then, the concept car had a hydrogen-powered rotary engine as its powerplant.
Mazda is strongly involved in the issue of sustainable development, and is highly committed to researching new energies to meet the mobility needs of future generations while at the same time looking after the environment. However, Mazda's goal is to solve such problems without sacrificing its 'zoom-zoom' values of dynamism and driving pleasure; hence the decision to choose the route of a hydrogen-powered rotary engine. The Renesis engine based on Wankel's patent is ingrained in Mazda's DNA, and was for good reason chosen as a partner for the company's new environmentally-friendly requirements.
Although the hydrogen rotary engine remains a key area of development for Mazda, this has not prevented the Hiroshima-based company from continuing development of fuel-cell vehicles at the same time.
The hydrogen-powered Mazda prototypes resulting from this intense research work have succeeded one another at a steady pace since the early 1990s, up to the latest Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE concept car presented at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2003.
The 2004 road homologated prototype formed the basis of the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE which is now actually driven on public roads in Japan. Equipped with a 'dual-fuel' power system, it is capable of operating just as well on hydrogen as on petrol, making it easier to use in everyday life.
In 2006 the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE vehicles are supplied on a lease arrangement to Japanese companies and local governments - a world first for a passenger car with a hydrogen internal combustion engine. This unique 'commercial' endeavour is providing Mazda with valuable experience for the future development of its hydrogen-powered vehicles.
"A hydrogen rotary engine only emits water. It is not as efficient as a fuel cell, but structurally it is closer to the petrol engine, hence its manufacturing cost is lower and it has fewer durability issues. Compared to fuel cells, hydrogen engines with dual-fuel system are more likely to play a significant role in the initial phase of the hydrogen energy society in the future. That is why Mazda is currently focused on developing dual-fuel system hydrogen engine. Furthermore, under normal circumstances, a hydrogen vehicle is fueled by hydrogen gas for clean driving. But what if a hydrogen vehicle is also powered by petrol? It would mean greater convenience, because the driver does not have to worry about running out of hydrogen gas or about driving to a place where there are no hydrogen filling stations. Mazda has achieved such a system and calls it "dual-fuel system", a highly innovative function not achieved with fuel cell vehicles."
Akihiro Kashiwagi - Program Management Div., Hydrogen RE Program Manager
What is the difference between fuel-cell technology and a hydrogen internal combustion engine?
A fuel cell generates electricity by causing a chemical reaction between hydrogen and the oxygen contained in the air, with water as a by-product. A fuel-cell vehicle is powered by electricity generated by fuel cells.
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