Hydrogen hot rods are part of a new wave of hydrogen-powered race cars as the battle over sustainable technology in motorsport continues to grow. I also have details on Mercedes F1’s plans for sustainable aviation fuel in 2025, Aston Martin’s work in decreasing the environmental footprint of data and the “Battle of Technologies” in Rallycross. All this and more in this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Roundup.
Sustainable Motorsport News
The Mercedes Formula One team have claimed they will quadruple their aviation emissions reduction by the end of 2025. The announcement means they are expecting to reduce their aviation emissions through SAF certificate purchases by a total of 18,500 tCO2e across 2024 and 2025, with 8,000 tCO2e saved in 2024 and 10,500 tCO2e saved in 2025.
Toto Wolff said: “A net reduction in our emissions sits at the heart of our operations and the ambitious sustainability targets we have set ourselves. We continue to invest in innovative solutions and technology that will enhance our performance, helping us go further faster.”
More details can be found here.
Sustainable development is one of the most important issues in motorsport. The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) awards one, two or three stars to circuits according to their level of sustainability. The Hungaroring was given two stars after this year’s Hungarian GP.
“It is important for our track to keep up with all other venues in the world in all respects, including sustainability, and we are constantly making efforts to do so. Sustainability aspects have also been important to us during the redevelopment project until 2026,” said Zsolt Gyulay, CEO of Hungaroring Sport Zrt. Learn more about their rating here.
A few weeks ago I highlighted an article by Olivia Hicks from Formula Flash on whether the North Holland oil and gas ad campaign could become Formula 1’s next tobacco ban. Now news comes that the campaign has proven to be a success, at least in The Hague. Part of the hypothetical is now a reality as The Hague has become the first city in the world to pass a law banning advertisements promoting fossil fuel products and climate-busting services.
Legislation passed last Thursday spells the end of publicly and privately funded advertising for petrol and diesel, aviation and cruise ships in the streets of the Dutch city, including on billboards and bus shelters. It takes effect from the start of next year.
The Hague’s ban, which has taken two years to pass, is legally binding. It outlaws fossil fuel products and services with a high carbon footprint, but it does not cover political advertising by the fossil fuel industry or adverts that promote a general brand.
Now granted Formula 1, nor any other form of motorsport that I can tell takes place in The Hague, but this could prove to be a harbinger of things to come.
Sustainable Motorsport Tech
PRI is asking a relevant question, which alternative power source has the momentum in motorsports, hybrid or hydrogen? While hybrids are currently the favored approach, hydrogen does have its proponents.
“Hydrogen fuel cells have been around for a long time,” Moore pointed out. “So the technology exists, but you’re now putting it into a pretty tough, performance driven environment, which really tests the technology. Simply being clean is already, in our opinion, a big upside compared to hybrid, and therefore [hydrogen is] more future proof,” Estourgie contended. “As the technology matures a bit more, as it gets more widespread, fuel cell support will get stronger and stronger. So race cars can probably go faster and faster.”
Read the full article on the PRI website here.
Electrified Magazine goes into more detail on NASCAR’s EV and its use of natural fibre body panels and the battery management system that GM calls “endurance mode.”
“The driver can strategically switch between long-range and full-power settings and balance between endurance and performance. While not all patented ideas make it to market, GM’s Endurance Mode could be a game-changer in EV racing. Whether it’s Formula E or future electric prototypes, this technology might just redefine electric racing.” Read the full article here.
NetApp and Aston Martin Formula One’s partnership to make data storage more sustainable features in a new series on platforms including Amazon Prime. In The Sustainable Future, an episodic documentary series focusing on emerging technology, the focus is on the commonly overlooked environmental footprint of data. It addresses the urgent need for a more sustainable approach to data storage and reveals how the Aston Martin F1 team is tackling it alongside NetApp.
“The documentary reveals that by next year we will generate an estimated 175 zettabytes (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes) of data annually. By 2030 we could create a Yottabyte (one, with 24 zeros) of data, which is equivalent to each person on Earth carrying approximately 500 iPhones.”
More details can be found in these articles:
- Data and Sustainability – The Aston Martin Aramco and NetApp story (Aston Martin)
- NetApp & Aston Martin F1 Flag Up Data Waste on Amazon Prime (Sustainability Magazine)
Series News
From New Scientist. At the Montalegre circuit in Portugal, electric vehicles and combustion engine cars are racing against each other in an FIA-championship event for the first time. The FIA, or International Automobile Federation, is the governing body behind some of the biggest motorsport championships, including Formula One. Billed as the “Battle of Technologies”, the FIA World Rallycross Championship sees both technologies compete on equal terms, with each vehicle having advantages and disadvantage that must be balanced in order to win races.
Rallycross races take place on mixed-surface racetracks, and while the electric cars have instant torque, and about 100 more horsepower, giving them an advantage on long straights, the internal combustion engine (ICE) cars – which run on sustainable fuel that is made of “70% of sustainable components”, the fuel manufacturers say – are around 160 kilograms lighter, giving them better handling around corners.
“The battle of technologies just adds a little bit more excitement to what we already call the most exciting world championship that we have within the FIA,” says Arne Dirks, managing director of FIA World Rallycross.
After going fully electric in 2022, the sport has been struggling to impress its long-term base of combustion fanatics, and following a fire in 2023 that destroyed two electric cars, the format needed a rethink. “The fire certainly didn’t help our sport,” says Dirks, “of course, it influenced the decision to go that way”.
So, despite Dirks telling New Scientist in 2022 that the electric transition meant “the old sport doesn’t exist anymore”, combustion engines are back. This time, however, the teams can choose their technology. Currently, about half the paddock has retained electric vehicles. “[The]combustion engine is technology of the past,” says Susann Hansen, team manager at Hansen Motorsport, who elected to stick with electric cars this season. “For us, it was not only a business decision to go into electric. It was also a personal belief that we need to do something. That I can look my children and my grandchildren in the eye to say we have done something,” she says.
For Dirks and others in the paddock, this is only the start of what is possible. “The battle of technologies is at the moment EV cars against ICE’s, but I think as a championship, we should be open also to new technologies,” he says.
Dodge has announced that it is entering Thrill One Sports & Entertainment’s Nitrocross, becoming the first carmaker to officially partner with the rallycross auto racing series. The 2024-2025 Nitrocross season began last weekend in Richmond and Dodge will have four cars in the Group E class of the series beginning immediately. They will be styled to be similar to the Dodge Hornet road car. Dodge will get at-track branding, media integration and at-track activation space. It will partner with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team, which is also in IndyCar, on the effort.
To start, DRR and Nitrocross worked with the carmaker to put Dodge-style features like badges, headlights and taillights on the series’ pre-existing 1,000-horsepower fully electric vehicle, but the sides are also working to eventually introduce custom Dodge-style bodywork. Read more about the effort at the Sports Business Journal.
As Formula E contemplates a race in Manila, Motorsport Week looks at how the series has defied skeptics and is still racing after 10 years.
“On the evening of March 11, 2011, former FIA President Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag were sat in a restaurant together, and as legend goes, by the end of the night, the concept for Formula E was written on a napkin. A concept of single-seater cars powered purely by electricity racing through the streets of some of the most iconic cities in the world.”
Read the full story here.
I had mentioned last week how the Miami Grand Prix organizers are open to pairing with the Canadian Grand Prix in the name of sustainability. Sports Illustrated has further details on why. “I think that is fantastic for the sport. I’m not scared of putting Montreal around Miami, especially if it meets some sustainability goals around the sport.”
The Big Picture
This year’s edition of the Vitality London 10km is set to be the first mass participation sports event in the UK to utilize the green travel tool, You.Smart.Thing, to encourage runners and spectators to opt for low-carbon transport.
“We are delighted to be working with London Marathon Events to elevate its sustainability initiatives and enhance the participant experience for the Vitality London 10,000,” You.Smart.Thing Chief Executive Chris Thompson told Global Sustainable Sport.
“The LME travel assistant deployment represents a step change in addressing the climate emergency and enhancing environmental sustainability in the sports sector. We’re looking forward to working with LME on future events.”
Read all the details here.
Getting to the Track Sustainably
- Driving the Mercedes Vision AVTR Concept, a Car Straight Out of 2154 (The Drive)
- Why Porsche Is Lowering Its EV Goals for 2030 (Stuttcars)
- “Changes begin with oneself” – Porsche as a responsible Partner to Society (Porsche)
- The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T and Scat Pack Get First Call Packs (MotorTrend)
- ReFuels and Green2x forge biomethane partnership to decarbonise UK road transport (Freight Carbon Zero)
- FUSO showcases electric eCanter variants at IAA Transportation 2024 (Freight Carbon Zero)
- Italy says Europe’s 2035 gas-engine ban is “absurd” (Green Car Reports)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
