Extreme E reveals first hydrogen off-road racing championship

NEOM: The all-electric motorsport series Extreme E has revealed plans to launch a global hydrogen championship in 2024, called Extreme H.

Alejandro Agag, founder of Extreme E, announced the plans ahead of the opening race of its second season, the Desert X Prix, taking place in NEOM, Saudi Arabia this weekend. 

“Extreme E was designed to be a testbed for innovation and solutions for mobility. It has become increasingly clear to us that creating a hydrogen racing series is a natural evolution of our mission to showcase the possibilities of new technologies in the race to fight climate issues,” he said. 

During the coming months, the teams will discuss the best way to integrate the hydrogen-powered cars into the racing weekend. Two separate categories, full transition to hydrogen or joint racing, are both options on the table, Agag said. 

Extreme H will race in the same locations as Extreme E, on the same days and with the same sporting format. A hydrogen fuel cell will replace the battery as the Extreme H car’s principal energy source while green hydrogen sources will be used to power the Extreme H fuel cells.

“It is fitting to launch the concept of Extreme H here in NEOM, a place with huge ambition around clean energy solutions, and the perfect example of a location which can and will become home to large-scale green hydrogen production and distribution,” Agag added.

Development for the Extreme H vehicle is already underway, with goals to have a prototype launched in early 2023.

An FIA series, Extreme E is an electric off-roading championship that has a social commitment to fight climate change while promoting gender equality.