Netflix’s hit series Drive to Survive alone will have given the passion for Formula 1 to a new generation of fans. But for how long? Even if the cars of Hamilton, Verstappen or Leclerc are more and more eco-responsible, they are still far from having completed their transformation. To become both politically and ecologically correct, they will have to go much further.
Abandon electric propulsion with batteries
The problems faced by the Formula E championship are in a way pointing the way to the next generation of motorsport. Two major manufacturers, Audi and BMW, have already left the game at the end of the 2020-2021 season. Mercedes should do the same this summer. For Formula E to have a future, it will undoubtedly have to abandon the electric propulsion with batteries it has used since its creation in 2014. Without waiting for a fourth generation of single-seaters, only planned for 2028, the founder of the competition did not hide that, beyond the more powerful engines expected for the 2022-2023 season, anything is possible. In other words, the use of hydrogen would fall within the scope of the license granted by the FIA. Because battery-powered racing cars quickly show their limit. Reduced autonomy, the weight of batteries or super-capacitors which becomes a handicap and relatively limited performance.
Increasing performance
A fuel cell to power an electric motor would allow more range, less weight and ultimately more power and longer runs. The famous Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is already drawing up its rules to allow such a prototype to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The project was called Mission H24. For its part, last year, the manufacturer Hyundai presented its hydrogen-powered hypercar project to face Toyota, Peugeot and even Ferrari on the legendary Le Mans circuit. This is where the future of motorsport lies in the eyes of Thomas Schemera, the executive vice president of Hyundai.
Indeed, the brand’s Vision FK concept car is a hybrid that combines a hydrogen fuel cell with a battery-electric powertrain developed by Rimac and driving the rear wheels. A fuel cell technology promising to be 50% more affordable than at present, which should be adopted on its hydrogen cars and trucks next year. The Vision FK prototype displays a maximum power exceeding 500 kW. It offers a range of 600 km, for a recharge time of twenty minutes, and goes from 0 to 100 km/h in less than four seconds.
Toyota puts hydrogen in a combustion engine
The other major manufacturer of the hydrogen vehicle with Hyundai is the Japanese Toyota. Since 2015, it has been marketing models powered by a fuel cell. The latest version of its zero-emission Mirai four-door sedan was introduced last year. But the GR Yaris H2 unveiled at the end of 2021 is of yet another caliber… It is certainly a real little sporting monster that runs on hydrogen.
In fact, this city car is usually powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged inline three-cylinder producing 261 horsepower. This GR Yaris H2 keeps this engine, but this time it runs on another fuel: dihydrogen, stored in two tanks. To do this, it was necessary to modify the fuel supply circuit and the engine injection system. To test the technology, Toyota has already tested it in competition since May 2021 in Japan on a Corolla Sport. It is no longer a question of electric motorization and fuel cells, but of hydrogen instead of gasoline in an internal combustion engine.
A priori, dihydrogen in the gaseous state would make it possible to obtain performances equivalent to those of a traditional unleaded fuel. But for now, the Japanese manufacturer is only talking about a prototype at the experimental stage, without saying anything about its real power and performance. Until then, the experiments carried out by other manufacturers, such as Mazda or BMW, had not proved conclusive. But they used hydrogen in the liquid state, and not in gaseous form. According to Toyota, “Hydrogen combustion engines achieve near zero emissions while delivering the same feel as gasoline engines. Hydrogen burns faster than gasoline, resulting in good engine liveliness, while offering excellent environmental performance”.
The fuel cell route seems the most natural
If this technology has the advantage of preserving internal combustion engines, it seems rather to belong to the past than to the future. The electric will impose itself in one way or another, including in motorsport. The fuel cell route seems the most natural, but the mutation will not be very rapid. For hydrogen to power motorsport cars, there are still many technological hurdles to overcome. In particular, it will be necessary to greatly increase the powers that a fuel cell is capable of supplying and find a way to make the supply of this power more immediate.
The Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is orchestrating tests of hydrogen cars as part of its Mission H24 program, as here in Linas-Montléry, in 2020.
By Paul Malo