Hydrogen at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2028

The ACO set up the MissionH24 project in 2018, with the objective of creating a hydrogen category for 24 Hours of Le Mans, in order to promote soft mobility. While initially it was a fuel cell which was powered by hydrogen, this time it will be a thermal engine, which will run on liquid hydrogen, “cleaner” than usual fuel.

Xavier Mestelan Pinon, technical director of the FIA, indicated the reasons which pushed the FIA ​​to turn towards the use of hydrogen in Endurance, unlike for example electric batteries, used in Formula E. “Within the FIA, we consider that the energy mix is ​​the solution for the years to come. Depending on the types of technologies and new energies used, this adapts more or less well to the different championships. For an Endurance championship, hydrogen appears to us to be the most elegant, most efficient solution for driving with zero emissions. At the exhaust level, we find water or very fine particles in the context of a heat engine. The applications of hydrogen are very interesting because they are currently very open. »

Liquid hydrogen, more efficient

The question of hydrogen storage very quickly became central. The latter can actually be stored in liquid or gas form. As is often the case in the world of motor sports, efficiency was the key word: “There are several solutions, including storage in the form of very high pressure gas, or liquid. After much work, it became clear to us that the liquid was the most suitable solution for use in motorsport, which must therefore be effective in terms of performance. For example, for a relay at Le Mans, we are talking about 15 kilos of hydrogen. With a liquid tank, that gives around 70 or 80 kilos while it would be double with gas. This is the reason why the FIA ​​World Council validated at the beginning of the year the technical orientation towards liquid, for hydrogen. This is something we have now strongly attacked. »

It now remains to be seen how many manufacturers will take the plunge into hydrogen in the years to come, with the category due to make its debut in 2028, four years after the date announced in the first roadmap, published in 2018.

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