Racing hydrogen is in the works for Bosch, Ferrari and Alpine and this week in the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup you get to hear about their plans and aspirations. I also have details on how F1 is driving positive advances for a more sustainable future, some interesting hydrogen technology that Toyota is testing and how pit boost has finally arrived in Formula E.
Sustainable Motorsport News
Bosch, Ferrari and Alpine were among the key manufacturers in attendance at the Hydrogen For Life conference in London last week. There, they participated in discussions on the future of hydrogen technology in the automotive and motorsport sectors, debating the challenges, benefits and opportunities that it presents.
Massimo Medda, Ferrari’s powertrain innovation manager: “We could use fuel cell or internal combustion. But Hydrogen combustion makes sense for us because, as we have discovered, it delivers similar power, torque and high revving capabilities to conventional ICEs and complies with emission regulations. And our founder Enzo Ferrari, believed that the internal combustion engine was the soul of our cars, we want to keep this soul alive and keep this dream alive. So that’s our focus.”
Read the full article on Daily Sportscar here.
Andy Marston of Sports Pundit looks at how Formula 1 is driving positive advances for a more sustainable future.
“I think [there is a perception that] sustainability is about doing less. You know, let’s face it, COVID, we were all sat at home, we watched Netflix on the telly, but we didn’t travel, [and] we didn’t go out. Everyone thinks that travel is the main thing [and yet] I think our global carbon emissions [only] dropped by 17%,” explained Tomson, a Senior Partner at thinkBEYOND. Where we need to get to at the moment is a 50 percent drop in the next five years. The impact has to be zero carbon coming out of anything we do in the next 15 years. The likelihood of that happening by us doing less is just not going to happen. So [to get there,] it has to be through innovation.”
Read the full article here.
Not to be outdone, edie looks at how the FIA is racing towards sustainability. “To achieve these goals, Sara Mariani, FIA’s director of sustainability, diversity and inclusion, explains, the organisation is prioritising the decarbonisation of race events, promoting sustainable practices among its stakeholders, and inspiring climate-conscious behaviour within its fast-growing global fanbase.”
Read the full article here.
The Visa Cash App RB Formula 1 Team recently signed a partnership agreement with executive charter airline Hahnair as their Official Private Aviation Partner and part of the partnership revolves around sustainable air travel.
“Hahnair is renowned for its tailored charter flights that cater to the unique needs of its passengers, running a modern fleet, with the very latest technology ensuring maximum energy efficiency. As from 2025 it will use SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) to further reduce its environmental footprint, aligning with Formula 1’s own investment in SAF as part of the sport’s commitment to reach Net Zero by 2030.”
Another F1 team partnership with sustainability implications is that between the Mercedes F1 team and lighting company Signify.
“When this partnership was first announced in July, it was clear that the two parties aligned on their ambitions around sustainability, with both aiming to be net zero by 2040. In fact, it was Mercedes’ sustainable initiatives, such as biofueled trucks during the European leg of the season and investments in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), that attracted Signify in the first place.”
Read the full article about the partnership on the BlackBook Motorsport website.
The FIA has introduced a Sustainable Fuel Certification Program that creates a robust tool to guarantee the environmental sustainability of fuels. The FIA’s Sustainable Fuel Certification Programme has implications that reach far beyond the racetrack. By pioneering sustainable fuel technologies in motor sport, the FIA aims to catalyse the development and adoption of these fuels for everyday vehicles. Through future partnerships with global fuel providers, the long-term goal is to make these fuels accessible to the vehicle transportation market, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector.
You can get more details on the program here.
With their involvement beginning in F1 in 2026 and being fully onboard with the series’ Net Zero 2030 commitments, Ford Performance has stated that Formula E holds little interest for the manufacturer.
“We didn’t see the right electric series. We didn’t find one that really provided what we wanted, in terms of reaching the right fans, the innovation and tech transfer that we were looking for,” Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports said.
Read more at Autoweek here.
Sustainable Motorsport Tech
A concept model has been developed by Toyota that explores how hydrogen generated while driving can be used to increase the efficiency of liquid hydrogen as an engine fuel.
“Toyota is working to produce reusable fuel by sending boil-off gas to a self-pressurizer – a device that increases pressure without relying on external energy. The boil-off gas can be converted back to hydrogen fuel for the engine by applying pressure. However, increasing the pressure usually requires energy, such as electricity. The self-pressurizer featured in the concept uses the pressure of the boil-off gas to increase pressure by two to four times, sufficient to produce fuel without using additional energy.”
Get more details at PMW.
Nico Perrinn and his team behind the PERRINN 424 are on a journey to build the fastest and most sustainable racing platform for the Nurburgring lap record and Le Mans 24h in hydrogen. If you want to know more about the program, check out this video on Linkedin.
Race Engine Technology takes a look at the hydrogen-powered Pioneer 25 Extreme H race car. “This is a fuel cell that has been designed and engineered specifically to meet the rigorous demands of motor racing,” says Grain.
Read the full details here.
Series News
Formula E has announced that it has topped the Global Sustainability Benchmark in Sport (GSBS) for the third consecutive year, maintaining its leadership of the Corporate, Environment, Social and Governance (CESG) ranking since its inaugural year.
While the sporting industry average was 51/100 in 2024, Formula E claimed the top spot by five percentage points over Borussia Dortmund with a score of 85/100, seeing incremental year on year improvements across Environmental, Social and Governance categories.
You can get more details here.
As Formula E prepares for Season 11, it looks like the long-delayed pit boost technology will be making its debut at some point during the season. “Autosport understands that the concept has been given the go-ahead and will be implemented on double-header weekends in order to vary strategies between each race at the same location. Alongside the 350kW of extra power from Attack Mode, which this year will activate all-wheel-drive, the introduction of Pit Boost is set to add another strategic element to races but one which some drivers are wary of in the event of a poorly timed safety car.”
Read more at Autosport here.
The other big performance issue for Season 11 is tire allocations as The Race explains. Formula E may have to consider upping the tire allocation for teams after concerns were expressed by some teams and drivers that practice sessions might feature very little running.
“It’s true that the tyre degradation with those new tyres in Jarama seems to be higher than last year. But of course, we don’t know the tyre deg on a street track, which we know will be a lot less and it’s hard to say whether it will be too much and whether we should ask for another set, or whether it will be okay.”
Read more about the issue here.
In my final bit of Formula E news for this week, Kiro Race Co has announced a major multi-year partnership with automotive brand CUPRA, debuting as CUPRA KIRO as the Formula E season kicks off in São Paulo this weekend.
Xavi Serra, Global Head of Racing, CUPRA “Joining Kiro Race Co is the logical next step for CUPRA. By combining our technical know-how with the team, we are fully prepared to compete at the highest level. Our commitment to Formula E comes from our racing DNA, alongside the format’s ability to give us a competitive platform to develop the future of electric road cars.”
Read more about the partnership here.
Here is more coverage on Formula 1’s recent sustainable aviation fuel plans. “Formula 1 uses a ‘book and claim’ system to account for the emissions reductions delivered by SAF. This ensures that SAF replaces fossil jet fuel elsewhere in the aviation sector while delivering equivalent emissions reductions for the sport.”
- Formula 1 expands sustainable aviation fuel programme (edie)
- Sustainable Aviation Fuel deal with Qatar Airways moves F1 closer to Net Zero plans (Autosport
The second NXT Gen Cup season saw a tough from the first race to the last, with the title race going right down to the season finale. 28 drivers from eight different countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Czechia, Scotland, Germany, Latvia and Norway, raced for the NXT Gen Cup honors this year.
Do a deep dive on the 2024 stats here.
Getting to the Track Sustainably
- Malaysia to produce SAF from palm oil waste, while Thailand pumps first SAF shipments to Bangkok’s airports (Green Air News)
- SITA teams with Arab airlines on developing technology to enhance flight sustainability (Green Air News)
- Cepsa supplies biofuels to Japan’s NYK line (Biofuel News)
- New Zealand could meet 25% of domestic jet fuel needs with SAF from wood waste, finds report (Green Air News)
- Airbus enters partnerships with airlines Wizz and EVA to help prepare for SAF introduction (Green Air News)
- UK Mandate To Require More SAF Use Starting in 2025 (AIN)
- T&E analysis of business travel emissions finds those companies with targets achieve the most reductions (Green Air News)
- European aviation players launch Project SkyPower to drive investment in e-SAF and meet EU and UK mandates (Green Air News)
- Up next: a ‘green tax’ on frequent flyers? (Executive Traveller)
- Explainer: what’s a ‘green’ airfare? (Executive Traveller)
- DHL & Shell Pioneer Sustainable Aviation at Brussels Airport (Energy Digital)
- Competition to Eurostar has reached a ‘turning point’ (Business Traveller)
- Lotus Isn’t Going EV-Only Anymore. What Does This Mean for the Emira? (The Drive)
- Mercedes tech may enable EV batteries with mixed cell types (Green Car Reports)
- Mercedes In-Drive moves braking system inside EV’s electric motor (Green Car Reports)
- Electrifying urban road transport for a complex world (Xynteo)
- Jaguar Type 00 Concept Previews a Striking New Design Language (Car and Driver)
- Porsche might develop gas and hybrid versions of its EVs (Green Car Reports)
- Esquire’s Cars of the Year: The Rivian Tri-Motor R1S Tops the List (Esquire)
- Could Hydrogen Trucks Be as Cheap to Run as Diesel? Glickenhaus Thinks So (The Drive)
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.
