How the Le Mans hydrogen racer is shaping up

Enlarge / GreenGT's prototype hydrogen-powered racer. (credit: Dhananjay Khadilkar)

Around 400 meters from the buzz of the paddock during this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans stood a tent with two racing cars and a mobile fueling station. Every now and then, people wearing blue T-shirts bearing the logo of "Mission H24" would walk by the cars to attend meetings in a motor home sitting next to the tent.

One of those people was Francois Granet of the Franco-Swiss company GreenGT. He appeared particularly thrilled because, on the eve of the start of this year's race, the ACO (Automobile Club de l'Ouest), which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, announced a new category of race cars at the Le Mans event for 2025: hydrogen-electric prototypes. The company's forerunners were stationed in that tent.

Creating a category

GreenGT is developing the hydrogen fuel cell powertrain for these cars, which will be designed around a chassis built by Oreca and Red Bull Technologies. "In partnership with ACO, we are helping define the sporting and technical regulations for the new category," Granet said.

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