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Toyota Hypercar program facing hydrogen crossroads

Toyota Gazoo Racing has some tough decisions to make regarding the future of its Hypercar program, as the FIA World Endurance Championship’s future ruleset to accommodate hydrogen-powered prototypes takes shape. Speaking with RACER in Qatar, Toyota …

Speaking with RACER in Qatar, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s chassis leader John Litjens explained that the Japanese manufacturer remains undecided on its strategy for life after the GR010. It has the choice of continuing to upgrade its current car until the hydrogen regulations debut or developing a brand-new one for the interim seasons after the GR010’s mandatory five-year homologation period ends.

This is a dilemma for Toyota, which is interested in racing a hydrogen-powered prototype but cannot make a final decision on a program because the timeline for the introduction of the regulations is not yet set. Currently, the ACO and FIA’s target is 2027 for the debut of the regulations — which are expected to accommodate both fuel cell and combustion technology — ahead of a planned shift to an all-hydrogen FIA WEC top class in 2030.

Is this realistic? Litjens is positive and feels the technology “should be” ready for use in top-class racing in time to meet the target. “Our colleagues in Japan are already running the Corolla on hydrogen and learning a lot there,” he said. “But it depends on how quickly the FIA comes up with the new regulations.”

It’s getting a little deep in the development cycle for Toyota’s GR010 HYBRID. Motorsport Images

The GR010 — now in its fourth season of competition — was heavily developed ahead of the 2023 WEC campaign, in which it won all but one of the races. As a result, the car has seen only minor updates ahead of the 2024 season. When asked about its plans for further upgrades to the GR010 for 2025 and development work on the next car, Litjens confirmed that work is being undertaken on both.

“We are looking at both, but we are discussing with the FIA about hydrogen regulations,” he said. “We have to keep our mind there. Yes at the moment we are at the top of the (performance) window, but if others make progress it could be too late.”

Assuming the WEC’s leap into hydrogen-powered racing is taken close to the proposed target date, the most likely scenario appears to be that Toyota would continue to race the GR010 until the new ruleset arrives.

“If the ruleset is not delayed too much we would hold on to the GR010, because if you do a full new car now and develop a hydrogen car in parallel, it would be too much,” Litjens explained. “For (the hydrogen rules to be introduced in) 2027 I think it should be OK, but if it gets 2029 or 2030 I think we have to do something in between.”

Progress, Litjens said, is being made on the regulations via a technical working group and that “the FIA are working hard” on it. He didn’t go into any detail but he did confirm that there is still more than one OEM seriously considering building a car for the new ruleset.

Is the other key player here Hyundai? The Korean manufacturer, which operates as a factory in the World Rally Championship, is known to be looking at sporting options to run parallel with its hydrogen roadmap for consumer vehicles.

Whatever happens, there are major hurdles for everyone involved to overcome. Leaving the timeframe for the ruleset’s debut aside, questions surrounding performance balancing, the maturity of the technology, the level of interest among current OEMs, the future of the current Hypercar ruleset, performance targets and proposed budgets all need answering.

Ideally, Litjens said, a hydrogen-powered Toyota would be able to race against cars competing in the LMH and LMDh ruleset, to ensure a healthy level of competition. However, he recognizes the complexity that would come with balancing LMH, LMDh and first-gen hydrogen-powered prototypes.

“If you see how long it took to get a bigger field (in Hypercar), I think the hydrogen we may have a few manufacturers that can come, but only with one or two cars because everything is new. I really think that the best first season to run is running Hypercar together with hydrogen cars, and then at a certain point switch.

“The most challenging aspect will be the weight of these cars,” he concluded. “I think it’s doable, but we can only judge it when we have more information.”

Toyota revealed its GR H2 Racing Concept last year at Le Mans.

The FIA released a bulletin concerning hydrogen technology following the latest World Motor Sport Council meeting. It puts a spotlight on liquid hydrogen technology as a potential solution for motorsport applications.

While it doesn’t directly reference the forthcoming hydrogen category for the FIA WEC, it is clearly relevant for the OEMs helping shape the future of the championship and represents another small step towards clarity on the direction of the forthcoming regulations.

“As part of the FIA’s energy transition road map, which defines the gradual introduction of sustainable power sources in motorsport, the FIA continues development of hydrogen-fueled power units across different disciplines and competitions,” the statement read. “As the next phase, the FIA will focus its efforts on contribution to the development and promotion of solutions based on hydrogen stored in liquid form (LH2).

“Given the tank’s characteristics, lower volume and weight compared to compressed gas tanks (CGH2), liquid storage form is better suited to the demanding environment of motorsport competitions, where optimization is key. This also allows the powertrain layout to remain closer to the one of a conventional combustion-powered car compared with vehicles accommodating compressed gas tanks.

“Solutions utilizing compressed gas storage type will be considered as interim solutions, provided minimum safety and technical requirements are met.”

Extreme E pulls back the curtain on hydrogen testing

Just one season of Extreme E remains in its current form. The 2024 campaign will be the swansong for the battery-electric Odyssey 21 before its successor, the as-yet-unnamed Extreme H hydrogen fuel cell car, will arrive. The transition to hydrogen …

The transition to hydrogen isn’t straightforward. There isn’t a hydrogen-powered motorsport series in existence yet, so while Extreme H has been developing a new car, the series has also been collaborating with the FIA to create new rules and safety standards for hydrogen racing.

“[It’s] very similar to all the work that’s been done in Formula 1 for many years, and of course, cascaded down to all the different championships,” Extreme E technical director Mark Grain says, speaking to media including RACER at the recent season finale in Chile. “We’re doing that work for the very first time, with it being the first hydrogen car. We’re looking at side impacts, low impacts, and impacts from the top. The chassis has been designed so the metallic element of the chassis is much more robust in that area.”

“They are still being defined in conjunction with the FIA, and they’re bolt-on parts. Again, something similar to what you’ve seen in different categories of racing. So they’ll go bolted on to the side, and they’re replaceable as well. There’s been good, solid consideration for those elements, and collaboration.”

Working out how to build and race hydrogen vehicles is one of several challenges Extreme H will face. Another is the safety stigma. It’s something the series’ managing director Ali Russell is well-versed in, having dealt with similar outside doubts during Formula E’s gestation period.

“There’s hydrogen cars in existence, but this is going to be a championship devoted to hydrogen. Hydrogen can be one of the solutions, not just for e-mobility, but actually for power, and green power,” he says. “So I think we’ve got a responsibility, we’ve got a North Star, and what we want to do is to accelerate that growth in that adoption.

“We’ve got some challenges, and the biggest one is the education system, because anytime you speak to someone about hydrogen, they talk about the explosive nature of hydrogen, and the Hindenburg and the connotations. What we’ve got to do is break that down, we’ve got to show the performance of the vehicles, but also the fact that they can be so resilient with some of the crashes that you have in this championship and multi-car championships.”

Working out how the hydrogen cars will be fueled is a key consideration as well. The paddock setup will obviously be the first of its kind, but could have legitimate real-world relevance, too.

“There’s going to be a bespoke setup in the paddock,” Grain says. “We anticipate two refueling stations, and a line of cars that will come, refuel, move, next.

“It gives us a platform to demonstrate that hydrogen refueling is very run of the mill, very straightforward. We would just have the two fueling stations out the back, which is just like a gas station these days.”

Hydrogen fuel cells could also open up the possibility of mid-race refueling, explains Russell.

“I think the challenge we’re going to have is, how do we evolve as a championship? Because obviously, what hydrogen allows us to do is to have refueling, in-race refueling,” he says. “So do you stop and do the [driver] switch and do refueling? Do you have another [stop]? How do we do that?”

While a lot of focus has, understandably, been placed on the car’s switch to hydrogen power, the evolution doesn’t end there. The new vehicle will be almost entirely new, benefiting from lessons learned in the first three (soon to be four) seasons of Extreme E racing, particularly with regard to suspension – something that underwent extensive development with the help of Fox, which came onboard during Season 2.

“The three years of [data] that we’ve got now in Extreme E, they’ve not been forgotten, They’ve been considered,” Grain says. “Spark have done an excellent job moving forward with the H car and the revised suspension geometry. They’ve worked with some technical partners in the U.S. who are experts in off-road racing as well, Baja, and so on, so [we] definitely expect improvements in the experience for the driver, geometry improvements, different damper ranges, spring ranges and so on.”

The battery technology, which will serve as a ‘buffer battery’ to temporarily store the energy produced by the fuel cell until it’s needed by the motors, will be carried over from the Extreme E cars, though. It won’t be a direct port, however, with WAE working to repackage it into something smaller and more efficient.

“They’ve done a fantastic job of repackaging technology that they’ve got,” Grain says. “So rather than being a cube, it’s more of a rectangle. All that technology is carried over, [but] there’s no compromises with having to accommodate the hydrogen fuel cell.”

With revised approaches to bodywork and suspension, sights like this could be a thing of the past in Extreme H. Colin McMaster/Motorsport Images

Bodywork will change, and dramatically – from the large and costly components of the current car, to smaller pieces that will cut down on the vast amount of cosmetic damage the Odyssey 21 is susceptible to.

“The principles behind the large components on the Extreme E car were serviceability, so if you took a large component off, you can immediately get in work on it,” Grain explains. “What we need from our H car moving forward is bodywork that’s more modular. Smaller components, smaller sections, that could be replaced quickly; some components that are forgiving, like deformable structures around the wheel arches, for example.

“Should there be some contact, instead of breaking the piece, and then having maybe a large piece we’ve got to scrap off – even if it’s made from green material – you can see how that starts to erode the principle behind what we were trying to achieve there. So there’s going to be a lot more modular body work that’s much easier to swap smaller components out, as we now understand more about what type of racing we want.”

That type of racing has been intense, especially this season with single-car qualifying runs axed and teams running in six multi-car races over a weekend. But far from wanting to tone things down, Grain says, “we actually want the racing to be more intense”.

“We want the race cars to be faster, [have] more performance. We took some key metrics and targets from Extreme E and we set those as our absolute – we do not want to be below that. So when we’re talking about top speeds, power outputs, acceleration, and so on, that was our base minimum. In Extreme H, we want to surpass all of those.”

In terms of performance, as a starting point, the Extreme H car will be similar to the Extreme E car, despite its higher weight. It’s already meeting those benchmarks in testing, but the wholesale changes to the rest of the car outside of its propulsion system mean that performance improvements will follow naturally.

“We are capped in Extreme E, because of power delivery and angles of droop, so we limit that power delivery in Extreme E artificially – the car could run more power but we cap it,” Grain reveals. “In Extreme H, those compromises with suspension geometry have all been ironed out. So we will have a more powerful car. We believe we will easily compensate for that extra mass with the power and torque that’s going to be available.”

Of course, the introduction of a new car and new technologies will inevitably bring up concerns about costs. Extreme E in its current form is among the lower-cost top-level series, with sources indicating that budgets for a full season are in the region of $2-3 million. Russell suggests that budgets will remain in the same ballpark.

“If you look at something like IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula E, they’re $20-30 million to run the teams in those championships,” he says. “What we want to be is a low-cost option, but with the focus around the development of hydrogen technology, specifically around the fuel cell.”

Series founder and CEO Alejandro Agag says that after a year or two the rules could be opened up to allow fuel cell development, something that could lead to a slight increase in costs, but it won’t be anything insurmountable, and perhaps not even worthwhile.

Extreme H won’t tone down Extreme E’s intense racing. Charly Lopez/Motorsport Images

“It will make it a little bit, but not that much, because they will already have the fuel cell developed for other uses,” Agag insists. “So I think it will increase the cost, but the base car – or the customer car, if you want to call it that – will be ours. The one we’ll provide with Spark that will be available, and cheap.

“If they want to increase, I don’t think the gains on performance can be so huge,” he says, suggesting that the only real benefit would be brand recognition that could come from using in-house tech.

After initial systems tests since the summer, this week the first full Extreme H prototype undertook its first shakedown. It marked a first major milestone for the car, which will be tested further in the first half of 2024.

“We’re up and running, we’re not this ethereal thing,” Grain says. “We’ve got a real car and it runs. We’ve got an extensive test program planned for Q1 and Q2 of next year.”

Russell adds that next season’s Extreme E calendar will also tie into that testing program, with a European-focused schedule that will allow testing and races to run in parallel.

“What you’ll see is [that] next season is very much about transition,” he says. “So what that means is we are really going to be focusing on a lot of European locations, because what we want to do as well is test the H cars.”

Extreme H’s 2025 arrival is very much on course, keeping to a timeline that other proposed hydrogen motorsport projects haven’t been able to.

“We’re going have the first, and I think for quite a while the only pure hydrogen World Championship racing,” says Agag. “I think all the other plans with hydrogen everywhere are very delayed. You’ve also seen Le Mans, they were going to do a car but delayed it.

“Our car is running, we’ve been doing all the tests in France, we’re going to test for another three months, but everything is up and running. Everything is going good performance-wise, to reliability-wise, and safety-wise.

“So we’ll start making the cars and we will have a hydrogen car race in February 2025.”

F1 and Extreme E form Hydrogen Working Group with the FIA

The FIA, Formula 1 and Extreme H – the championship currently known as Extreme E – have joined forces to establish a joint Hydrogen Working Group. The group will monitor the progress of the development of hydrogen technology, namely fuel cells and …

The FIA, Formula 1 and Extreme H — the championship currently known as Extreme E — have joined forces to establish a joint Hydrogen Working Group.

The group will monitor the progress of the development of hydrogen technology, namely fuel cells and battery systems for vehicle applications in motorsport and wider mobility, as well as race site infrastructure, transportation, charging, storage and management, and all safety implications.

Forming the group will be representatives from all three organizations, Extreme E technical director Mark Grain, F1’s chief technical officer Pat Symonds and Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA single-seater director.

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“Our sport has a tradition of bringing new technologies to the forefront of public perception in incredibly short timescales,” said Symonds. “We do this by being open-minded to all solutions and embracing cross-functional engineering. With climate change mitigation at the forefront of everyone’s mind we are committed to promoting sustainability and therefore need to explore all areas of decarbonization of the mobility sector.

“This must include sustainable liquid hydrocarbon fuels, electrification and hydrogen. This Working Group enables a collaboration which will allow us to gain first-hand experience and contribute to the understanding and development of the many aspects of hydrogen propulsion that Extreme H will embrace.”

Tombazis added: “As the governing body for both the FIA Formula 1 World Championship and the upcoming FIA Extreme H Championship in 2025, we welcome this latest collaboration.

“The FIA Technical Department has experience and knowhow in the area of hydrogen technology which we will bring to the Working Group along with sporting, safety and regulatory expertise. As is currently the case across the entire FIA motorsport portfolio, we will take learnings from this collaboration for the benefit of our sport and mobility.”

News of the Hydrogen Working Group’s formation comes after confirmation that Extreme H will have FIA championship status for its first season in 2025, before becoming a full world championship a year later.

“It’s a privilege to be working alongside Formula 1 and the FIA as we continue to develop our world-first hydrogen racing proposition,” said Grain, who is leading the development of Extreme H’s next-generation race car as it transitions to becoming the first fully hydrogen-powered motorsport series. “Our transition to Extreme H makes us the pioneers and first-ever testbed of hydrogen technology in motorsport — not only in our racing cars, but also transportation, infrastructure, refueling processes and safety regulations.

“It’s a ground-breaking initiative and we look forward to collaborating with Formula 1 and Pat [Symonds] both technically and operationally, as we continue to champion new technologies and break boundaries on behalf of motorsport, with hydrogen at the forefront.”

The formation of the Working Group, however, will not spell an imminent move to hydrogen fuel cells for F1, primarily because Formula E holds exclusive rights to create a hydrogen fuel cell single-seater series. However, there could be other benefits from Extreme E’s ongoing work that could benefit F1.

“We’re already a long way down the road with already a long way down the road with helping FIA to understand the requirements of hydrogen, but then also how we transport hydrogen,” Grain told media including RACER at last weekend’s Copper X Prix in Chile. “How we power the paddock, for example — that might be something that Formula 1 could look to move into in the future.

“I predict their plans, but we do that in harshest environments, they’ve got the benefit of tarmac and all of that easy stuff. So, that will be another opportunity, to come and look at how we run our paddock and the infrastructure that they could carry over into that world.”

Speaking of the idea behind the formation of the group, Extreme H founder and CEO Alejandro Agag said that uncertainty surrounding the best direction of the future of motorsport was a key reason for establishing a link between the burgeoning series and F1.

“My idea, or my pitch to Formula 1 was to say, listen, you don’t know which technology is going to be the one — no one knows,” he said. “For the moment they are betting on synthetic fuels, which is fine, but hydrogen is going to be one technology that could be the future, part of the equation. So why don’t we do a group in which basically, you keep an eye on it?

“So that is all that it is; there is no more, there is no less. It’s for Formula 1 to be able to keep an eye on what’s going to happen here. And what’s gonna happen here is we’re going to have the first — and I think for quite a while — the only pure hydrogen world championship racing.”

But as well as the obvious technical benefits of the collaboration, Agag suggests that Extreme E and Extreme H teams — of which several already have links to Formula 1 such as McLaren, and teams owned by the likes of F1 champions Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, and potential F1 entrant Andretti — could benefit commercially from the association.

“That’s also one of the really interesting angles of this partnership is to open commercial opportunities for our teams,” said Agag. “Some of our teams are doing OK, some of our teams are doing so-so, but to give them this unique selling point — and also for the championship itself — to have a unique selling point of hydrogen is very important. But to have the link with Formula 1 is commercially very important because there is no motorsport organization commercially stronger than Formula 1.”

Le Mans delays hydrogen-powered class

Introduction of a category for hydrogen-powered race cars at the Le Mans 24 Hours is being delayed a year to 2027, says Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. Fillon cited hurdles created by safety concerns as the reason for the …

“2026 is not realistic, it’s (now) 2027” Fillon said of the mooted Hydrogen category, which is set to be introduced ahead of a targeted hydrogen-only top class at Le Mans for 2030. “Because we have to spend some time working on the safety, it has taken longer than we expected. 2027 is more realistic.”

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Fillon emphasized that the ACO-led MissionH24 electric-hydrogen prototype, which is expected to begin track testing in early 2025, should be considered separately from the Le Mans hydrogen program.

“H24 is not for Le Mans. H24 is for the Michelin Le Mans Cup, ELMS maybe, but the target performance for H24 is GT3, not more,” Fillon said. “We are not a manufacturer. The car is just a laboratory to learn what we have to do in terms of safety and refueling. We have learned a lot with this car.”

With Le Mans 2027 less than four years away, however, it remains unclear how much interest there is for the new Hydrogen category. Back in June, Toyota expressed a clear intention to race a hydrogen-combustion prototype when it took the wraps off the GR H2 Racing Concept (pictured above) at Le Mans.

This followed an announcement in May from the ACO which confirmed that vehicles with a hydrogen combustion engine will be eligible, in addition to the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles that were already confirmed to enter.

The GR H2 Racing Concept is powered by a hydrogen combustion engine, rather than a hydrogen fuel cell, designed with the intention of competing in the new hydrogen category.

Hyundai is also known to be looking at sporting options to run parallel with its hydrogen roadmap for consumer vehicles. Beyond that, though, with the current hybrid-powered LMH and LMDh rulesets booming, it remains to be seen if there is enough interest and incentive for manufacturers to sign up to a hydrogen-powered future at Le Mans to match the proposed timeline.

Why Extreme E plans to swap its E for an H

Extreme E is still a fresh addition to the world of motorsport, but with its stock still on the rise, it’s about to press the reset button. Last month Extreme E announced that it had signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with the FIA to …

Extreme E is still a fresh addition to the world of motorsport, but with its stock still on the rise, it’s about to press the reset button.

Last month Extreme E announced that it had signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with the FIA to develop the first hydrogen-powered motorsport series, under which it could become an official FIA world championship by 2026. With the countdown clock ticking down to the debut of the provisionally titled Extreme H, series founder and CEO Alejandro Agag and its managing director Ali Russell have shed more light on the development of the category.

Agag says he expects Extreme E in its current form to go away when the hydrogen-powered cars arrive, with the idea behind the switch being to create a testbed for future technologies.

“At the end of the day what’s important for me is the relevance from the technology point of view,” says Agag, who points out that battery technology development, which will fall by the wayside when Extreme H arrives, is already happening in Formula E.

“I think that hydrogen has so many open questions, so many challenges that are opportunities, that I think we can get a lot more use out of the championship as a technology platform if we focus completely on hydrogen,” he says, “pending a final discussion with the teams.”

Agag will need to persuade both manufacturers and his current set of team owners, like Rosberg X Racing’s Nico Rosberg, that a switch to hydrogen power will pay off. Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Images

In making Extreme H a testbed for technology first and foremost, it would effectively make motorsport’s most modern series mirror the sport’s past days.

“Because the technology that has to come now, the ones that don’t emit carbon, aren’t developed yet, motorsport recovers its old role as a testbed for those technologies,” Agag notes. “Now we’re working deep with the hydrogen thing, nothing is there. So much is not there that we’re having to develop ourselves.

“That’s the real challenge, that’s where I see the real value.”

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It’s a massive undertaking. There hasn’t been a hydrogen-only series before so there’s no benchmark, but as Russell points out, it’s a similar starting point that Formula E — also founded by Agag — faced, and the electric open-wheel series is now heading into its 10th season.

“I can remember the very start of Formula E, pitching an electric motorsport series, and people were laughing at us — who’s gonna watch a motorsport that has no sound or a lack of noise,” Russell recalls. “He [Agag] absolutely nailed that — Formula E has been incredibly successful. It’s the race-to-road message that we’ve delivered.”

In the decade since it began, Formula E has helped accelerate battery technology for EVs, evidenced by the fact that in the category’s inaugural season, drivers needed two cars to complete a race — now they can do it in one and fast charging is around the corner, too.

A decade in, Formula E has advanced both technically and in its sporting presentation to deliver on its “race to road” message about electric power. Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Images

“That for me is exactly why we’re going into hydrogen,” Russell explains. “There’s some challenges around hydrogen at this moment in time, and it’s not that we’re we’re turning our back on our E-mobility because essentially the route that we’ve chosen to go down as a fuel cell route, it’s still driving, propelling an electric vehicle, we’re just looking at how can we do that, and break down some of the barriers that consumers have.”

The only hydrogen-only motorsport series could be an attractive prospect for automakers wanting to develop the technology, and Russell says that when the time eventually comes, Extreme H’s FIA backing will help it become an attractive place for manufacturers to come and play.

“We’ve always talked about having impact as a series and having impact is engaging with OEMs and ensuring that OEMs have a testbed for technology,” he says. “What we don’t want to be doing is testing the suspension or the brake systems. We want to be focusing on the hydrogen fuel cell, and the electric motor and batteries.”

That being said, right now Extreme E has two OEMs — General Motors and Cupra — and neither of them have made substantial moves in the hydrogen arena when it comes to their customer products. Agag admits that losing both is a real possibility.

“I pretty much think that if we go only hydrogen, we would then probably lose both. It’s a fact,” he concedes. But, he adds, “Facts don’t worry me because they happen. It’s a choice.”

“The thing is, for the first season the car is going to be one make, so there’s not going to be an opportunity to open the technology. So then attracting manufacturers is tricky, because you can attract one and put that brand all across, or you can open the technology but then it makes it so expensive that small teams don’t survive.

“We have a little bit of time because the first race of hydrogen will be February 2025, so we have time to slowly figure out the best way to have manufacturers onboard.”

Even for automakers that have yet to express a strong interest in hydrogen technology, Extreme H presents an interesting proposition, with the young technology still a curiosity for many.

“I think even the ones that have decided that hydrogen is not for them still are interested in what’s going on. No one’s 100% sure where the markets are going,” Russell says. “I don’t think this is a silver bullet — I don’t think hydrogen is the only opportunity, I think it’s part of a portfolio of opportunities there. That’s what we want to stand for, and there are more manufacturers that are looking at how they can use racing to innovate and develop.

“I think we’ve seen with Formula E the value of being first to market, and I think we really want to be first to market on hydrogen development. What makes this so interesting for us is that speed of change. I think anyone else would take probably three years to respond to this.

“This isn’t something that Alejandro just dreamt up, this is something that’s very considered and calculated, and something that we have discussed for many years now.”

The unique spectacle Extreme E currently provides could be put at risk by a switch to hydrogen but Agag believes its a chance worth taking. Sam Bloxham / LAT Images)

Ahead of Extreme H’s 2025 debut, the first prototype turned a wheel for the first time in July. Agag describes the test as a “thing at 40 kilometers per hour — it was more of a shakedown,” but says that “it went well.”

“All the parts were in it — the fuel cell was producing the electricity from the hydrogen, it was going to the electric motors, it did what it had to do,” he reveals. “In November we need to go to 100kph, and I’m pretty sure we will do it.”

All the right moves have been made so far, and with the track record of Formula E and Extreme E, there’s enough evidence that the rebirth will be another success, but Agag is under no illusions about the task at hand.

“I think there is risk, but the interesting thing is to be the only one,” he says. “We can be a niche.

“We are going to be the only pure hydrogen championship for many years, I think, so that gives us a unique position. If we become marginalized and we suffer for that or we disappear, it’s OK. We’re not here to do the easy thing. We’re going to give it a big try.”

Extreme H to become first hydrogen-powered FIA world championship

Extreme H, the first ever hydrogen-powered off-road racing championship, will host its first season in 2025, following the signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding between the FIA and series organizers. What’s more, Extreme H will become …

What’s more, Extreme H will become a full world championship from 2026, joining Formula 1, the World Endurance Championship, the World Rally Championship, the World Rallycross championship, World Rally Raid Championship, Formula E, and the Karting World Championship as officially recognized FIA world championship series.

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“We are excited to continue working with Extreme E on their journey to becoming an FIA World Championship. Using sustainable power sources in motorsport is the key objective of the FIA and part of our long-term strategy, and this series is an ideal showcase for that,” said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. “Hydrogen is an important part of that mix, and we have developed a set of safety regulations for hydrogen-powered vehicles which is part of the FIA’s International Sporting Code.

“It is encouraging that such a major motorsport entity as Extreme E with its renowned lineup of teams sees the same potential in hydrogen technology. Their approach to equality and diversity matches ours as we push to make motorsport accessible for all.

“Motorsport competition serves as an excellent research and development platform and this new series has great potential. Having the technology tested in the harsh environment of off-road racing in all types of conditions should benefit the whole industry, and in the longer term make mobility more environmentally friendly for everyday users of the road. We are looking forward to working with Extreme E, sharing our know-how and expertise.”

Extreme H’s precursor, Extreme E, will also become an FIA-recognized series. Colin McMaster/Motorsport Images

Ahead of Extreme H’s arrival, Extreme E, the electric off-road series which has run since 2021, will become an FIA-recognized series from 2024.

“Establishing alongside the FIA a world-first hydrogen racing world championship will be a momentous milestone for Extreme E and the new Extreme H series,” said Extreme E and Extreme H founder Alejandro Agag. “Eventual accreditation as an FIA championship and then an FIA world championship means we would be amongst the top tier of global motorsport categories, and Extreme H would be the first-ever world championship racing series of its kind.

“What started as a conversation many years ago about racing in extreme environments, showcasing the incredible performance and innovation of E-SUVs, has now demonstrated enormous growth and further pioneering technical advances as we move forward with the transition to hydrogen and Extreme H — a world-first.”

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Extreme E’s plans to branch out and create the first exclusively hydrogen-powered motorsport series were first announced in February 2022, with testing of the first prototype vehicles for the championship taking place this summer. It is the latest in a string of groundbreaking series to come from Agag, whose credits also include Formula E and the upcoming E1 electric powerboat racing series.

“This announcement is a significant first step in the development of our championship and our ground-breaking transition to hydrogen-powered racing,” he said. “Sport is the most powerful and effective platform to drive innovation and our commitment to delivering sustainable motorsport championships full of excitement and with a reduced carbon footprint are testament to that.

“Once it achieves FIA world championship status, Extreme H will continue what Extreme E started as a pioneering motorsport series and we look forward to delivering another spectacular sporting product.”

Toyota reveals plans for hydrogen Le Mans prototype

Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman Akio Toyoda presented the new GR H2 Racing Concept at today’s ACO pre-Le Mans press conference, reaffirming the automotive giant’s intention to compete in the FIA WEC’s (and Le Mans 24 Hours’) forthcoming category …

The GR H2 Racing Concept is a prototype powered by a hydrogen combustion engine, and is on display at the new “Hydrogen Village” at the Circuit de la Sarthe for the rest of the Le Mans 24 Hours weekend.

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Toyota’s news follows a recent announcement from the Automobile Club de l’Ouest that hydrogen-engine vehicles will be allowed to compete, in addition to the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles which were already confirmed to be eligible.

“We look forward to our new GR H2 race car in view of the new Le Mans H2 class in the future,” Toyoda said. “We look forward to our new GR H2 race car in view of the new Le Mans H2 class in the future. This is indeed a special day for Toyota and an even more meaningful one for Le Mans.”

Toyota’s forays into using hydrogen combustion technology began with the debut of a Toyota GR Corolla which has competed in the Eneos Super Taikyu Series since 2021, and also raced in the Idemitsu 1500 Super Endurance Race at Chang International Circuit in Thailand last December.

A new version of the GR Corolla H2 Concept was introduced to Super Taikyu in 2023, and just two weeks ago, made its racing debut at the Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours.

“Two weeks ago I drove a Corolla fueled by liquid hydrogen at the Super Taikyu 24-hour race at Fuji Speedway. This was a world first for a race car. And not only did we successfully finish the race, we learned a lot,” Toyoda said.

Now the plan is to take the lessons learned from this ambitious project — part of Toyota’s big push towards proliferating hydrogen technology as a viable option for sustainable mobility — and apply them towards the challenge of the next generation of Le Mans 24-hour races.

“Personally, my goal is to achieve carbon neutrality in motorsports, without sacrificing in terms of performance or excitement. And by the way, we wouldn’t be investing in this technology if I didn’t think we could win with it,” Toyoda noted. “We are doing it with zero emissions. Of course, one of the other major benefits of hydrogen fuel over gas is just how light it is. No more BoP!

“I really want to encourage our competitors to consider hydrogen, not just because it’s good for the environment, but because it’s really an exciting option. The sound, the torque, the dynamics — it’s all there.

“In the end, when it comes to carbon neutrality and motorsports, we’ve been investing in every option — from battery electric vehicles, and beyond. And that’s why Toyota hydrogen is just one of the many passages that we’re taking.”

Ligier and Bosch reveal new hydrogen race car

Ligier Automotive CEO Jacques Nicolet and Dr. Johannes-Joerg Rueger, the CEO of Bosch Engineering, revealed the new Ligier JS2 RH2 – a “race-ready” high-performance car that has been produced as a proof of concept for cutting-edge hydrogen …

Ligier Automotive CEO Jacques Nicolet and Dr. Johannes-Joerg Rueger, the CEO of Bosch Engineering, revealed the new Ligier JS2 RH2 — a “race-ready” high-performance car that has been produced as a proof of concept for cutting-edge hydrogen combustion technology — today at Le Mans.

The two organizations have been hard at work developing the car since last November. It is powered by a 3.0-liter bi-turbocharged V6 engine, based on an existing platform from Bosch.

In terms of its technical stats, the car currently has an output of 420 kilowatts, produces 570 horsepower and can achieve a top speed of 280 km/h / 174mph. It weighs 1450kg / 3197 lbs and can run for approximately a single stint on the Le Mans circuit, between 35 and 40 minutes.

While on the outside the car looks almost identical to Ligier’s existing JS2 R, which currently competes in the Ligier European Series, underneath its body it is a completely new platform. It houses a custom H2 storage system with three 2.1-kilogram tanks.

“We chose the JS2 R design as a platform because we started the project in November, so we had to move fast,” Ligier Automotive owner Jacques Nicolet told RACER. “However, under the body, it’s a completely new car. The JS2 R is a tubular chassis; this uses a carbon monocoque with three fully integrated hydrogen tanks. It’s ready to race with the maximum level of safety.”

While the phrase “race ready” was used to describe the JS2 RH2 throughout the presentation, this car — which has already been out testing at a Bosch test track — is not expected to race any time soon, if ever. Instead, the car is a technological demonstrator that will be used as the foundation for longer-term goals for both Ligier and Bosch in the hydrogen marketplace.

Neither Bosch nor Ligier were prepared to go into any real detail at this stage about its future beyond being developed and shown to potential customers (it has two seats). There is no current plan for the car to compete or run as part of the Ligier European Series, in an experimental category as part of a series such as the 24H Series or NLS, or as a future Garage 56 project at Le Mans. Clearly, though, there may be a huge number of potential opportunities for this car and the technology in the future.

When asked by RACER for clarity on Bosch’s vision for this project in the long term, and whether or not the ACO’s 2026 hydrogen regulations could present a chance for Bosch and Ligier to compete together, Rueger said it was a “possibility.”

“Of course it is,” he continued. “We have looked for a strategic partnership with somebody that has capabilities that fit with ours and can do things we are not as good as, such as making vehicles.

“We are not a vehicle maker and Ligier is not an electronics company, that’s why it was a perfect fit. Ligier is a fabulous partner and we have seen what is achievable in a very short amount of time.”

Nicolet told DailySportsCar.com that it is “too early” to say where this partnership and project are going.

“For the moment the plan with Bosch is to work on this kind of project, to develop our knowledge with this kind of product,” he explained. “After that, we will see when there are decisions taken from the ACO or someone else to integrate hydrogen cars into competition. Then we will see what we decide. This is a first step, a one-off, to develop and learn.

“One day there will be a single solution to hydrogen. We want to put ourselves at the forefront of this technology.”

Extreme E appoints McLaren veteran Grain as new technical director

Extreme E has appointed former McLaren sporting director Mark Grain as its new technical director. In the newly-created role, Grain will oversee the series’ upcoming hydrogen shift. The series is set to debut a prototype of its new hydrogen vehicle …

Extreme E has appointed former McLaren sporting director Mark Grain as its new technical director.

In the newly-created role, Grain will oversee the series’ upcoming hydrogen shift. The series is set to debut a prototype of its new hydrogen vehicle next month, ahead of testing and production later this year.

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“Having experienced Extreme E first hand as a competitor and loved every minute, when the chance came to join the Championship, I jumped at it,” said Grain, who was instrumental in creating McLaren’s Extreme E team, and was involved in the company’s 1995 Le Mans win as well as multiple IndyCar victories.

“Extreme E continues to evolve and break new ground in motorsport, having already established many ‘firsts’ which make its appeal so unique. The opportunity to play a part in its future is incredibly exciting, especially with the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell racing.

“We don’t want to sit back; we want to continue to push and evolve. Extreme E already has a track record of challenging common assumptions and ways of going racing, and I share the strong ambition to maintain that momentum.”

Grain was instrumental in McLaren’s entry to Extreme E. Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Images

Extreme E founder and CEO Alejandro Agag was thrilled with the new appointment, calling him “the ideal candidate for the role”.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mark to Extreme E as our new Technical Director. His relentless pursuit of excellence has earned him a stellar reputation in the industry and this, combined with his unrivalled expertise and passion for sustainable motorsport, make him the ideal candidate for this new role,” said Agag.

“We believe his expertise will be invaluable in shaping the technical future of Extreme E and driving innovation within the championship, while there will also be significant focus on preparations to launch Extreme H, a world-first hydrogen motorsport series.”

Extreme E’s chief championship officer James Taylor added that his experience in creating and running McLaren’s Extreme E team will prove to be a valuable benefit in his new championship-wide role.

“We look forward to Mark bringing his expertise and experience into this new role. The fact that Mark has run McLaren’s Extreme E team is a major benefit for us, as he appreciates both the technical and sporting demands of a team and the Championship,” said Taylor. “Extreme E has always pushed the boundaries since its inception, and Mark’s appointment as Technical Director only further reinforces that.

“Although already into our third season, there is a lot more potential to be unearthed in our series and so Mark’s arrival into the Extreme E team is an important one. Mark will work closely with our experts from Spark Racing Technology and our fuel cell partner to ensure that the Extreme H car and associated technology provides our teams with the best possible car to race.”

Drivetrain development still an option for Extreme E, but hydrogen remains the focus

Extreme E founder and CEO Alejandro Agag has left the door open for the series to allow technical development from teams, but has reiterated his desire to focus on providing a platform for hydrogen technology in the future instead. Currently a spec …

Currently a spec series with cars built by Spark Racing Technologies and batteries provided by Williams Advanced Engineering, it has long been suggested that Extreme E could follow Formula E’s lead by allowing teams to develop their own powertrains. While the option is still on the table, Agag admits that technical development could widen the competitive order and make the series less attractive for those already involved.

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“Racing is all about winning and if you don’t ever win, it gets boring and you perhaps leave the sport. So I think creating championships where the possibility of winning is for everyone is very important,” he told select media including RACER at last weekend’s Hydro X Prix in Scotland. “But there are different schools of thought. What’s happening today in Formula 1, for example, with Red Bull – I think it’s even slowing down their cars just not to win by 20 seconds – I think it’s not good for the sport.

“You need the competition and here, it’s new teams on top but I think the teams that won last year are also incredibly competitive so we can see them come back. It’s great for the sport.”

Stretching back into last year, Extreme E has had six different winners in the last eight races, with every team – including the departed XITE Energy Racing and new-for-2023 Carl Cox Motorsport operation – appearing on the podium in that time. But aside from sporting considerations, costs are also a concern, with drivetrain development having the potential to multiply budgets several times over.

“We almost think that it’s not our direction because if you open technology here, and we’ve thought about it, everything needs an extra car to test different car to test the different powertrain,” Agag said. “The championship is probably not in a position to open up the technology because the costs would be so high.

“Off-road has less financial muscle than formula racing. In Formula E the teams are spending £30, 40, 50 million a year, here the teams are spending two, three (million), but if you want to develop a car that will compete, you will spend a minimum of 15, and where do you get that 15?”

Expanding, Agag drew comparisons with his time running the Addax GP2 team, explaining that setup can be enough of a differentiator in a single-make category.

“It’s all a question of money in the end,” he said. “Do you want to develop the technology together so you save money and everyone has the same car?

Andretti, McLaren, and Abt Cupra all compete in Formula E as well as Extreme E, where they run customer powertrains from Porsche, Nissan, and Mahindra respectively. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images

“Setup plays a big role anyway, and your engineers, your mechanics, and your strategy.”

“I spent seven years in GP2, we all had the same machine, we all had the same engine, but sometimes my car was two seconds faster and sometimes my car was two seconds slower because of setup, because of working the car for the specific race.

“So for the future in Extreme E, we may open some stuff but it’s probably more going in the direction of hydrogen. That’s where we are looking.”

The introduction of hydrogen to Extreme E has been a constant talking point since the news went public last year, and while hydrogen has some disadvantages compared to battery electric – efficiency being one of them – providing a platform to showcase hydrogen on a wider scale has its own merits.

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“That is a question that we need to answer – do we do both battery and hydrogen, or do with one? I think being the only one has a lot of merit because there is an industry out there that is in need of a platform that they don’t have,” Agag explained. “So there is a big industry in hydrogen, many countries are betting big on green hydrogen production, many oil companies are betting on hydrogen and they cannot go into the battery championships – I mean, they go, Shell is with a couple of teams in Formula E, but there’s less connection.

“So there’s a whole ecosystem that lacks a platform, and if you have the only platform, that’s interesting from the business point of view and also the relevance point of view because what you develop here, you can use. And what I like about the hydrogen challenge is it hasn’t been done and there’s so many things we’re learning as we go, and that’s why we do motorsport, to learn.”

Agag also said that whatever form Extreme E’s hydrogen development will take, it will help develop technology for the wider world.

“We look for solutions and it’s very important that when you’re looking for solutions, to not listen much to the noise, because there is a lot of noise, and that noise is basically useless,” he insisted. “We just have to get on with it. We can develop know-how that can be used on a much wider scale.

“If we do a hydrogen car competition, we will develop know-how that will be used on a much wider scale.”

Extreme E’s hydrogen prototype remains on target for a July shakedown, with production of racing cars beginning before the end of the year.

“From October we will start production of the race cars, and we’re going to produce 10 race cars,” Agag confirmed. “That’s a fact. That’s happening.”