Bernard Niclot: “The ACO thinks that hydrogen has a real place”

Consultant for the ACO to “steer discussions on hydrogen and the working group which must define the technical regulations for 2024” Bernard Niclot has a keen eye on the MissionH24, initiated by the promoter of 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend in Spa.

With the launch of the GreenGT LMPH2G, based on an LM P3, the beginnings of hydrogen technology have been noted, but work remains to be done on the project in its various aspects: technical, safety, etc. 

“Above all, we want it to be a real competition between manufacturers, says the president of Win Innovation. Afterwards, indeed, we will have to see where we want to position it. This will depend on the evolution capabilities of the technology.

If the question is whether we are already at the level of an LM P1, it is clearly no, but things will change a lot within five years. We are not yet at this positioning stage.

What is certain is that the ACO believes that hydrogen has a real place in the automobile of the future. Projections establish that hydrogen will account for around 18% of energy consumed in 2050.

This is not a negligible impact on global warming and air quality. There is a real stake and competition has a role to play. It would even be abnormal if the competition did not deal with this subject. »

Bernard Niclot also estimates that the first outlines of a regulation integrating hydrogen technology should be established at the end of 2019, in particular to allow manufacturers to launch their own programs.

Discover our complete file on the ACO’s MissionH24, in issue 2184 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.