Technical Paper
Hydrogen Fueled ICE, Successfully Overcoming Challenges through High Pressure Direct Injection Technologies: 40 Years of Japanese Hydrogen ICE Research and Development
2018-04-03
2018-01-1145
After some 40 years of practical research and testing in Japan, the technology for a high pressure direct injection hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE) with near-zero emissions free from CO2 was successfully developed by the author. Four fundamental challenges to make a hydrogen car a competitive alternative to both electric and traditional fossil fuel vehicles were successfully met. (1) Hydrogen’s lack of lubrication destroys the sealing surface of the injector nozzle. (2) Injectors must be of very small size to be installed onto the engine head where the four valves are located on each cylinder. (3) Multi-injection requires high dynamic response. (4) Liquid hydrogen tank’s internal pump would fail when bringing liquid hydrogen (LH2) to the required high pressure levels due to frictional heat.
