There is a lot of interesting information in this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Roundup including a Full Throttle Sustainability panel to watch and learn from, Top Gear explaining how synthetic fuels work, and Porsche’s stance on sustainability. All this plus James Baldwin’s attempts at running his home racing sim with a wind turbine and more.
- You can watch the Full Throttle Sustainability panel at the 2022 #INGlobalSummit above to learn from leaders in the motorsports industry on how sustainability is being implemented across each series, and how the motorsports industry is a microcosm of a bigger eco-friendly trend. Participants: Andretti Autosport, Andrea Pontremoli, Dallara, Julia Pallé, Jamie Reigle, Formula E, Zak Brown, McLaren Racing
- Formula 1 and Santander (Banco Santander) have announced that they have “joined forces to offer their shared expertise in business, innovation, and sustainability to support the next generation of entrepreneurs. As part of a promotional partnership, F1 will amplify the Santander X Global Challenge | Countdown to Zero competition that will challenge entrepreneurs to create sustainable solutions for the future.” The Countdown to Zero competition, which will be judged by a panel including F1 personnel, marks the beginning of a partnership that will also leverage F1 social media and digital reach in conjunction with Santander to promote wider sustainability initiatives. The six winning projects will receive prizes totalling €120,000 – €30,000 for the three winning start-ups (€10,000 each) and €90,000 for the three best scale-ups (€30,000 each) – as well as access to Santander X 100, the global community of top Santander X entrepreneurial projects. The winners will also have their projects promoted on F1 social media and digital platforms.
- The latest issue of Sustainability Magazine has an article on Formula E called Formula E Charge for Sustainability in Motorsport which is a good read. They also look at the preparations for the Formula E race in London.
- Above is a great video from Top Gear featuring supercars running on synthetic fuels and how it all works.
- While Formula E has nowhere near the visibility of Formula 1, it’s CEO thinks that the two series can coexist and Autoweek explains why he thinks so. “Candidly, I don’t think you’ll see Formula 1 go full electric. First of all, we have an exclusive license from the FIA as an FIA World Championship. We’re the only one that can be open-wheel single-seater electric. Formula 1 cannot do that. But they’ll shift more power towards the electric component. They’ll have higher degrees, higher power in the hybrid system. And you know, they’re adopting E fuels and things like that. We view that as a positive, because they’re innovating and they’re doing things that are going to be better for for the environment.”
- Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has stated categorically that Porsche is committed to a double-e path: e-mobility and e-fuels. “Climate protection has to be seen holistically. That’s why we need to be open in terms of technology. Electromobility is an important track. At the same time, there are more than a billion existing vehicles worldwide. They will be on the roads for decades to come. E-fuels are an effective, complementary solution in this regard. They can enable all vehicles to play a role in reducing CO₂ – regardless of the powertrain type. Combustion engines can be powered with e-fuels in a virtually carbon-neutral manner. They don’t have to be converted or retrofitted for it. E-fuels can be offered as an admixture or alone at all filling stations. We have to offer an option to the owners of existing vehicles too.”
- The question of introducing hydrogen cell tech to power Formula E cars’ motors has been tentatively discussed between teams as the championship already looks beyond next year’s new Gen3 car to its long-term future. While that is all well and good, the Renault-Nissan alliance does not agree with that direction according to The Race.
- Check out the video above as James Baldwin attempts to power his home Formula 1 simulator from a wind farm in an effort to reduce his carbon footprint!