The idea of a hydrogen-powered car racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one step closer to reality with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest revealing its latest prototype concept for 2025.
The ACO and GreenGT’s Mission H24 project first bore fruit in 2018 with the launch of the LMP2HG prototype, which turned demonstration laps and utilised hydrogen refuelling technology. It also appeared in two rounds of the Le Mans Cup series, sharing the track with LMP2s, LMP3s and GT3s but racing alone in the Innovative class.
Lessons from the LMP2HG fed into the H24, also based on an ADESS LMP3 chassis, which was introduced in 2021 and sported upgraded transmission and braking systems among other updates. The H24 also ran in the Le Mans Cup but always at the rear of the pack. However, the third-generation Mission H24 concept, the name of which is open to public suggestion, is designed to push the boundaries of hydrogen powertrain performance with the goal of matching GT3 machinery that will start racing at Le Mans next year.
Power comes from electrochemical reactions in the stack of Symbio hydrogen cells that convert the fuel’s chemical energy into electricity, as well as heat and water by-products.
Hydrogen fuel cell firm Symbio started out in Grenoble in 2010 and is now part-owned by Stellantis. It has 750 staff (ACO)
The car will have two Plastic Omnium fuel tanks each capable of storing 3.9kg of hydrogen at 700bars of pressure for a total weight of approximately 100kg. ...