The Wemotaci is new generation of snowmobile that would burn hydrogen instead of gasoline. The Wemotaci’s modified 888 cc two-stroke engine would produce over 144hp without polluting the atmosphere with carbon monoxide. The concept vehicle is featured at Imaginactive.
The Background
In Québec, 97% of electricity comes from hydro-electric dams. The average cost is below 7 cents/kWh. If today’s batteries were powerful enough, the generated electricity could be used to power snowmobiles, which require lots of horsepower to displace snow.
Unfortunately, battery technology isn’t at that point yet, so one viable option would be to start producing hydrogen with the electricity. The hydrogen could then be used to power recreational products, which is the idea behind the Wemotaci snowmobile concept.
How It Works
In 2012, two researchers from the University of Sherbrooke, named Martin Brouilette and Jean Sébastien Plante, modified a two-stroke outboard engine so that it would burn hydrogen instead of gasoline.
They used existing parts and modified the injection system to work with gaseous hydrogen at 5,000psi. They also modified the cylinders to improve combustion, but most parts on the engine remained stock parts. Their success means that it would be possible to develop a production model.
Hydrogen could be stored in medium-sized tanks similar to diver’s tanks. These cylinders would be housed in a protected box behind the pilot’s seat. They could also be designed to fit inside the front cab. In this case, the rear ‘El Camino’ box could be used to store the rider’s luggage.
Would this vehicle cost more per unit? The designers at Imaginactive don’t think so, since the materials are basically the same. There would be an increase in fuel cost since hydrogen is more expensive than gasoline, but that difference could be reduced by carbon market incentives.
The Wemotaci would run as fast and be as powerful as existing models. Most importantly, it would only emit water vapors instead of carbon monoxide CO and unburned hydrocarbons (UHC). Furthermore, it wouldn’t smell like oil or exhaust fumes.
The Designer
The Wemotaci concept was developed in collaboration with Jan Bujnak, an industrial designer from the Slovak Republic. Jan graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislavia and works as a freelance designer. Jan has also produced the concept images for the Biora emotion sensing bike and the Typhon personal hovercraft.
Imaginactive is a non profit organization created by Charles Bombardier where innovative ideas are created and published every week. We create futuristic vehicles or try improving existing ones by collaborating with ideators, inventors, designers and tinkerers from around the world. http://imaginactive.org
Copyright (C) 2024, Snowmobile Association of Massachusetts. All rights reserved