Hydrogen is one of the potential energy sources for the future “green” automotive industry and motorsport, with the FIA now joining the future Extreme H championship and Formula 1 in the creation of the Hydrogen Technical Working Group.
The three entities will be represented: Mark Grain, technical director of Extreme E, for Extreme H; Pat Symonds for F1 where he is technical director; and Nikolas Tombazis on behalf of the FIA, where he holds the position of director of single-seaters. The objective of this collaboration is to bring together collective experience in order to “evaluate developments and potential applications for hydrogen within motorsport and broader mobility”.
The working group will aim to “monitor the progression and development of hydrogen technology – both for fuel cells and battery systems that will be used in the first generation of Extreme H competition chassis – as well as hydrogen technology within competition infrastructure, transportation, charging, storage, management, and its safety implications”.
It is worth noting that Extreme H is currently being created and is expected to begin testing early next year before the inaugural season in 2025. It will be an off-road championship with hydrogen-powered cars, following in the footsteps of the electric Extreme E.