The Hydrogen Rotary - Why Mazda Should Continue to Develop It

Mazda has developed and been leasing two types of cars with hydrogen powered rotary engines, an eco friendly version of the engine notorious for having terrible fuel economy and being unable to meet emissions requirements. The hydrogen rotary project is interesting because it not only runs on hydrogen, but it can also run on typical gasoline, allowing it to have a large range.

Along with the original RX-8 Hydrogen RE, Mazda also built the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, combining the clean hydrogen power with a bit of extra power from electric motors. On hydrogen power the RX-8 Hydrogen RE produces 107hp from its modified RENESIS, although if you’re looking for a bit of speed it does produce a more respectable 207hp on gasoline power. The Premacy came later and the updated engine produced a more respectable 150hp on hydrogen power, although the output remained the same on gasoline. The extra 40hp provided by the electric motors give the car a very respectable 190hp on hydrogen and 250hp on gasoline, making it a properly quick little minivan.

Mazda hasn’t given much word on these cars since they were released in 2008 and 2009. The project has seemingly gone dark with Mazda cancelling the RX-9 project and saying that the only use for the rotary in the future is as a range extender. This seems like a waste of a well developed engine. The rotary, while definitely unable to meet emissions or fuel consumption requirements in a modern age, can be easily modified to run on hydrogen, and with few moving parts it’s cheaper to produce than an equivalent hydrogen run piston engine. Hydrogen as a fuel was shortly tested then dropped from development by many manufacturers because of concerns with storage and cost. With further development and use in a wankel rotary application I believe that it could be made more viable.

Despite its shortcomings, the rotary engine shouldn’t be dead yet. The engine has been given limited development time compared to the piston engine and still has a long way to go before people can give up on it. I believe that the hydrogen powered rotary is the logical next step, especially with its unique adaptability to run both hydrogen and gasoline. The rotary has the potential to bring eco friendly fun to the masses, and keep us car guys happy even while producing zero emissions. Besides, you can rev to 9000rpm comfortably knowing that you’re helping save the environment.