Extreme H taps F1 and FIA for Hydrogen Working Group

The new body consists of representatives from all three organisations including Mark Grain, Extreme E’s technical director and spearhead on the transition to Extreme H, F1 chief technical officer Pat Symonds, and Nikolas Tombazis, FIA single seater director. Its main objective will be to monitor development of hydrogen technology for both the fuel cells and battery systems that will be used in Extreme H’s first-generation racing chassis, as well as hydrogen technology within race site infrastructure, transportation, charging, storage and management. Plans are in place to launch a prototype hydrogen-powered chassis with a first full-speed shakedown towards the end of this year, ahead of a comprehensive testing programme in early 2024.

“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, refuelling processes and safety regulations,” said Mark Grain, technical director, Extreme E.

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

Extreme E was launched in 2021, combining high-octane off-road racing in electric SUVs, a gender-equal driver line-up in each team, and a mission to highlight climate change issues and environmental impact. The series is set to transition to hydrogen power with Extreme H in 2025 in an effort to boost the profile of hydrogen as a fuel and storage vector.

“Our sport has a tradition of bringing new technologies to the forefront of public perception in incredibly short timescales,” said Pat Symonds, Formula 1’s chief technical officer. “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 decarbonisation 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.”