A static model of Mission H24 project’s brand new prototype, the H24EVO, was presented to the public for the first time on Wednesday at the Circuit de La Sarthe’s dedicated Hydrogen Village.
The H24EVO, which will run with a brand new gas-powered 300 kw Symbio multi-stack fuel cell, is the third prototype developed by the Mission H24 program, and is expected to turn a wheel for the first time next year.
H24 co-presidents Pierre Fillon and Jean-Michel Bouresche, plus the project’s technical director Bassel Aslan and two of the three dedicated test drivers, Stéphane Richelmi and Adrien Tambay, were on hand for the presentation, as were representatives from H24’s partners: TotalEnergies, Symbio, Michelin, OPmobility, Dietsmann and Richard Mille.
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The H24EVO, which was first revealed last year marks a significant step forward from the previous-gen prototype, labelled simply as the ‘H24’.
This one is essentially a single-seater with prototype bodywork (for packaging purposes), with a new tub from Adess, which houses two 700 bar hydrogen tanks that store 7.8 kg of H2 (down from three tanks in the H24), a 400 kw lithium battery and an 872 horsepower electric motor.
“We started development of the car earlier this year, after its first reveal last year,” Bassel Aslan told outlets, including RACER, at the reveal.
“It’s a prototype with a central place for the pilot, with 50 per cent higher power density and which we hope to have running in 2025 for the first time and racing in the future.
“We are aiming for a pace similar to the fastest GT3 cars, stint lengths of 30 minutes and a two-minute pit stop for refuelling, but this is just the beginning.”
When and where will we see the car race? The target right now is 2026, after it is homologated by the FIA.
“We are very keen to put it on the circuit and compete with it,” explained Aslan. “We are confident we will manage to achieve the performance we are targeting. Which competition? It’s too early to answer this question.”
The development of the H24EVO comes at a time when a future regulation set for hydrogen technology in the FIA WEC is being developed in the background by the ACO and FIA. At the time of writing the rules are expected to be introduced for 2027 following a delay communicated last year.
Despite the FIA’s recent shift to a focus on liquid hydrogen technology, the ACO is believed to be open to accommodating both hydrogen combustion and hydrogen fuel cell solutions like the H24EVO.
Thus, the H24EVO remains a relevant project for the forthcoming category.
“This mission is to prepare the infrastructure, the rules, the technology and the partners for hydrogen technology later in the Hypercar category with constructors or other things in motorsport in general,” Aslan said.
“Our discussions started in 2018. We built two prototypes, and with the FIA, thanks to the experience they get with those prototypes and this car, they can figure out how the rules will look in the future, even if they are taking the line of liquid hydrogen.
“This prototype represents a huge opportunity, it will be the first hydrogen homologated car running in the history of motorsport. We are working to achieve this target.”
While the H24EVO will not feature on track this week at Le Mans, the Alpine Alpenglow Hy4, MissionH24 H24 and Ligier JS2 RH2 will all complete demonstration laps of the Circuit de La Sarthe in the build-up to the 24 Hours.