Yamaha has taken a significant step towards sustainability with the construction of a new testing facility at its factory in Morimachi, Japan, equipped with a melting furnace and a heat treatment furnace using hydrogen. This initiative is part of the Japanese company’s commitment to reduce its CO2 emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Starting in 2025, the facility will explore techniques for smelting aluminum using hydrogen gas, rather than the natural gas and other fossil fuels currently used, with the goal of minimizing CO2 emissions. Yamaha expects to have developed the necessary technologies by the end of 2026 and to begin gradually implementing them at its domestic and international smelting plants starting in 2027.
Yamaha uses hydrogen as part of its carbon neutrality goal by 2050
This plan is an integral part of Yamaha Motor’s efforts to reduce Scope 1 CO2 emissions (direct emissions controlled by the company) across all its operations. Currently, natural gas and other fossil fuels are used in the manufacture of castings for motorcycles, outboard motors and other products.
In a statement, the company said: “In our search for alternative energy sources, we have determined that electrification is not suitable for the fusion process in terms of energy efficiency, as it requires a large amount of heat. Therefore, we turned our attention to hydrogen energy, which Yamaha Motor is already studying as an option to reduce Scope 3 emissions (product use).«.
In addition, Yamaha is working on developing equipment to produce hydrogen gas at low cost, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and innovation in the motorcycle industry.
