HONDA AND SUZUKI TURN TO HYDROGEN

By Éric Descarries

Just recently, Toyota was almost criticized for being more interested in hydrogen technology than in solid-state batteries for electric cars. This would explain the departure of President Akio Toyoda from Toyota after his allegiance to hydrogen was called into question.

A dramatic turn of events! Despite Toyota’s new interest in batteries, other Japanese manufacturers such as Honda, Suzuki and even Kawasaki and Yamaha are becoming increasingly interested in hydrogen, especially for smaller engines in recreational vehicles such as boats, motorcycles and personal watercraft. Added to this are the micro-cars that Honda and Suzuki build for the Japanese market (which accounts for almost 40% of this domestic market). The aim of these companies is to produce vehicles with internal combustion engines running on hydrogen, a technology that was thought to be “asleep”. To be continued…