F1 technical chiefs to investigate use of hydrogen in motorsport
The new Extreme H will be a sister series to Extreme E. Both categories will share events and even use the same chassis, but with different powertrains.
According to reports, a new ‘Hydrogen Working Group’ has been formed to investigate the use of hydrogen not only as a potential fuel in motorsport, but also for “wider mobility”. The new working group consists of F1 technical chiefs, along with other figures from the FIA & Extreme H – a hydrogen-powered off-road racing series scheduled to launch in 2025.
The group will look into both hydrogen fuel cells and battery systems like those to be used in the Extreme H racing cars. As for the group’s “wider mobility” – this includes looking at use of hydrogen in motorsport infrastructure like transportation, charging, storage & management.
F1 chief technical officer, Pat Symonds is among the figures on the group’s panel. Symonds stated, Our sport has a tradition of bringing new technologies to the forefront of public perception in incredibly short timescales. We do this by being open-minded to all solutions and embracing cross-functional engineering. He mentioned how F1 is “committed to promoting sustainabilityโ & added, that they need to “explore all areas of decarbonisation of the mobility sector, [which] must include sustainable liquid hydrocarbon fuels, electrification and hydrogen.โ
The new Extreme H will be a sister series to Extreme E. Both categories will share events and even use the same chassis, but with different powertrains. The Extreme H prototype is expected to be revealed by end of this year, with a testing programme scheduled in 2024. The series will launch in 2025 and aims to have an official FIA World Championship in 2026.
Mark Gain, Technical Director, Extreme E, also part of the Hydrogen Working Group, stated, “Our transition to Extreme H makes us the pioneers and first-ever testbed of hydrogen technology in motorsport โ not only in our racing cars but also transportation, infrastructure, refuelling processes and safety regulations.”
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