An off-road hydrogen championship is set to be launched in 2024, marking a world-first for motorsport.
On 18 February, Extreme E – the existing electric racing series – confirmed Extreme H will sit alongside it, with the development of a prototype vehicle for the new championship already underway and set to be launched in early 2023. The car will use the same powertrain and chassis as is used in Extreme E, but will use a hydrogen fuel cell as its primary energy source. The fuel cell will use green hydrogen, created using solar and water.
Extreme E already is using green hydrogen, alongside batteries, to power its paddock as one of several methods to keep its carbon footprint as low as possible. Others include using a refurbished ship for transporting the championship’s freight and logistics equipment; using remote broadcast and digital streaming; and capping team personnel numbers.
Founder of Extreme E, Alejandro Agag, said: “Extreme E was designed to be a testbed for innovation and solutions for mobility. It has become increasingly clear to us that creating a hydrogen racing series is a natural evolution of our mission to showcase the possibilities of new technologies in the race to fight climate issues.”
