Yamaha Fuel Cell Motorcycle with Direct Methanol Type System Enters Road-test Stage

Tokyo oCTOBER 7, 2004; (JCNN) Yamaha Motor's has announced that it has received license plates for its recently developed direct methanol type fuel cell motorcycle and commenced with tests on public roads from September 13, 2004, with sights on eventual release for practical use.

Yamaha's plans call for this road testing to continue under a variety of condition until December 31, 2005, during which time a range of surveys and verification tests will be conducted and data gathered on environmental performance.

The fuel cell vehicle "FC06 Proto" has now begun road testing adopts what is called the "Yamaha DMFC (direct methanol fuel cell) System." Developed exclusively by Yamaha, this direct methanol type fuel cell system eliminates the need for the converter unit required by a hydrogen-run fuel cell by using liquid methanol diluted in water as its fuel.

This "Yamaha DMFC System" has the advantage of being able to be made into a compact power source that maintains its power output performance when used for smaller machines that require an electrical output of less than one kilowatt.