The issue of hydrogen as a fuel used in fuel cells to power electric motors is often discussed. That said, manufacturers have been working for a few years on the possibility of using hydrogen in a combustion engine.
Posted on February 25
Toyota, which still fiercely wants to keep this engine alive, has teamed up with equipment manufacturer Yamaha to lead the development of a hydrogen-powered V8. The project is essentially based on the 5L eight-cylinder engine found in the Lexus RC F and IS 500. 450 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque.
Yamaha has not specified anything a priori on the modifications made to the block to allow the use of hydrogen, apart from the making of an impressive one-piece exhaust manifold. We bet that the adjustments are rather important to ensure its proper functioning.
It should be noted that the production of hydrogen requires a large deployment of electrical energy on its own. In addition, its storage is complex and takes up a lot of space in a vehicle, which inevitably weighs it down. In a high performance design, this is rather counter-intuitive. That said, it will be very interesting to follow the developments of the strategy. Mazda and Subaru also showed interest last November in joining this collaborative project.