To preface, I have used a tongue-in-cheek title for the article, because I am honestly not sure yet how well this idea is going to work.
On October 11th, Sportscar365 published an article speaking about the new hydrogen powered ACO prototype sports car racer concept. I have briefly skimmed and read the article but have not yet had the time to opine on it. At first glance, the photo of the new hydroelectric racer makes it appear very much like a glorified Hot Wheels or Matchbox car. This is part of the ongoing Mission H24 project set forth a handful of years ago by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest. In 2026, according to the article, there is supposed to be a specific class for hydrogen powered sports cars introduced by the French governing body. Toyota, Peugeot, and BMW are the three brands that seem the keenest on this new endeavor. We saw the H24 hydrogen car the ACO introduced in 2018 run in a number of races in 2022 I believe as part of the Michelin Le Mans Cup. I remember, because I did indeed write about, and document said races right here on the blog.
ADESS has built the chassis for this hydrogen powered endurance racer. The driver is centrally positioned in a cockpit with a canopy instead of traditional doors, very much like a fighter jet. The minimum targeted weight of the car per the article is 1300 kilograms. 2,866 pounds. The car is built with a single high performance electric motor delivering 872 horsepower which is equal to 650 kilowatts of electric power, or, you can indeed reverse those figures. The gearbox runs with a single gear ratio due to the electric motor being so powerful. So, there is a drive gear, and I am assuming some sort of reverse or neutral as well. The goal is for the car to reach 320 kilometers an hour, (198 miles an hour) to be in line with the GT3 production cars coming to the FIA WEC next year. This car is slightly slower than the current Le Mans Hypercar and LMDh cars we see today.
The multi stack, next generation hydrogen fuel system the car is equipped with a power output of 300 kilowatts. The car is capable of holding 100 kilograms of hydrogen in double fuel tanks, storing 7.8 kilograms at a time at a pressure of 700 bars. The car is expected to have to be refueled every half hour or so which is far less efficient than that of a conventional petrol and renewable fueled endurance racer. Dynamic power and braking regeneration capability for the car is provided by a lithium ion battery with 400 kilowatts of power.
The car uses Michelin tires which, in the next 25-30 years will be completely renewable and recycled as well. A zero-emissions endurance sports car is what this automobile is. This is a noble endeavor, but I just do not see the feasibility of what the ACO wants. If we can continue to blend renewable energy with petroleum for the foreseeable future, fine. The idea of running a race car and especially an endurance car, on full hydroelectric power, to me, as a purist who has always been for ICE power with the addition of electric motors, like the LMDh/GTP cars have now, sees hydrogen power as a strange conundrum.
The only residue would be water. I get it. Water vapor. Water, safe enough to drink, or so it is claimed. That being said, this whole idea for the ACO to go completely hydrogen and hydroelectric power or for automobiles in general to do that, in the span of the next quarter century, is far flung. I am all for the health of the environment. That is not the point of my addressing this car. My point is that how feasible is this technology? How much testing beyond the H24 prototype that we saw in selected races a handful of years ago, has been done? This type of technology must be well thought out before it is brought to bear and supported by any automakers who want to undergo such an endeavor.
What kind of mileage range would this hydroelectric prototype get? 30 minutes per stint around the Circuit de la Sarthe between pit stops would mean a fuel range on an eight-and-a-half-mile loop of barely four laps. Current ICE powered cars from such eras as LMP1 and Hypercar, yields at least 10-11 laps. The weight of the car I believe is even heavier than some of the modern prototypes. What is the power to weight ratio? There are too many questions which lead to a good number of red flags and a lot of head scratching with a project like this.
Water is a resource that is becoming less and less with so many of us on the planet. Can you go out and make water? No. Think about this. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions to zero will not work. We need a certain percentage of CO2 as human beings to survive. If it gets below a certain level, all of humanity is in trouble. Is a "zero emissions" race car, or any kind of car, feasible? At this point in time, I would say, no. Maybe, by 2050, when I am a lot older, and perhaps, perhaps still following sports car racing, I will turn on a tablet, punch in a program on a motorsport's app for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and see one or more of these hydroelectric endurance racers zooming around Le Mans and have my skepticism erased. For now, this whole thing is such a whipped cream pie in the sky when the moon hits your eye kind of deal.
I am not equivocating whether I am for or against this technology. If it works, wonderful! More power to the folks who would like to see motorsports help keep our planet healthy. That being said, though, if it does not work, then, what are we going to do? Remember this. Without CO2 on the planet, nothing would be able to live, human, animal, plant. So, by trying to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere, it is not helping matters. Every living thing is based on carbon. It's high school science. People might want to think about their high school inquiry science classes, freshman year. I know I do. I suppose endurance sports car racing or any kind of competition using motorized vehicles would cease to exist and that will be a sad day for the diehard fans like me who gain such joy from seeing these cars, especially the prototype sports cars, in high-speed competition.
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