The Waste2Race Le Mans Prototype is a hydrogen-powered race car fueled by sewage and this is just one of the items featured in this week’s edition of the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup. I also have the impressive results of Mercedes F1’s HVO100 bio-fuel-powered European season, COTA’s partnership with an environmental group and the DTM ditching fossil fuel. All this plus much more!
Sustainable Motorsport News
Mercedes have revealed that they successfully powered their European season on HVO100 biofuel, achieving 98% coverage in race and marketing trucks and generators, and saving more than 500 tonnes of CO2e.
Working with Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS and their logistics partners, Mercedes set a target to extend their use of biofuels during the nine 2024 European races.
Their aforementioned savings – despite the current complexities of the supply chain across Europe – are an uplift from the 74% biofuel coverage achieved over the 2023 campaign’s European leg.
As F1 scale their sustainable centralized power solution for European races in 2025, Mercedes will continue to drive use of sustainable fuels and make progress in extending biofuel use to their flyaway races next season.
You can find more information on Mercedes’ sustainable logistics here.
Formula 1 is on track to become Net Zero Carbon by 2030 and Aggreko is helping the championship to achieve this goal through a sustainable energy pilot project at the Austrian Grand Prix. They explain how in “Energising the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.”
“The centralised power generation compound consisted of just 10 generators (totalling 5MW) with high efficiency, Stage V low emission engines and running exclusively on HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetables Oil), which produces up to 90 per cent less CO2 than fossil-based diesel. The capillary electrical distribution was designed to the highest standards, with Aggreko’s bespoke Electrical Design Software simulating electrical parameters and defining optimal protection settings to enhance reliability and resilience of the end users.”
Olivia Hicks explains how a pact between Texas’s Circuit of the Americas and an environmental nonprofit is turning both the race track and Austin green. Could this partnership be encouraged elsewhere?
“When Formula 1’s Texas host began planting trees along the track’s twenty corners, the subsequent smattering of a grove looked like a half-hearted attempt to mitigate the impact of plowing 1,500 acres of rolling hills to build an asphalt racetrack. But as the canopy fills out, the trees will drive down trackside temps while making nearby residential streets more livable. It’s part of the speedway’s commitment to offsetting its carbon footprint—something that COTA has worked on with Travis County, the City of Austin, and local nonprofit TreeFolks since 2010, when it first broke ground fifteen miles southeast of downtown.”
You can read the full article at Texas Monthly and learn more about the initiative here.
Sustainable Motorsport Tech
A hydrogen-powered race car fueled by sewage and built by students at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick is attempting to break a land speed record.
The Waste2Race Le Mans Prototype (LMP3) race car will use hydrogen that is a byproduct of Wastewater Fuels treatment technology being trialed at Severn Trent Water. The car has been built using a selection of spare and unused parts.
The steering wheel, developed by the National Composites Centre (NCC), is made entirely from naturally occurring materials, and ENRG Motorsport supplied a battery recovered from a crashed road car.
PMW Magazine has more details on the initiative.
In the last FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting held October 17th, the FIA set out a number of technologies and strategies included a new vision for future of hydrogen fuel technology.
“As the next phase, the FIA will focus its efforts on contribution to development and promotion of solutions based on hydrogen stored in liquid form (LH2). Given the tank’s characteristics, lower volume and weight compared to compressed gas tanks (CGH2), liquid storage form is better suited to the demanding environment of motor sport competitions, where optimisation is key. This also allows the powertrain layout to remain closer to the one of a conventional combustion-powered car compared with vehicles accommodating compressed gas tanks. Solutions utilising compressed gas storage type will be considered as interim solution, provided minimum safety and technical requirements are met.”
More details can be found here.
The videos above introduce two of the speakers attending the Advanced Powertrain Technology Forum at this year’s Professional Motorsport World Expo, taking place on November 13, 2024, in Cologne, Germany.
The forum will feature Selin Tur, Technical Director at Williams Grand Prix Technologies, and Tobias Lucas, Project Manager at Forze Hydrogen Racing. Selin and Tobias will delve into the technologies and techniques they have developed to revolutionize powertrain design and sustainability in motorsport and high-performance automotive. These presentations offer a unique opportunity to gain insights on how these innovations can be applied to enhance powertrain technology.
Mission H24’s H24EVO will use TAG GT solutions developed by McLaren Applied. MissionH24’s all-new zero-emission prototype, a collaborative program between the Automobile Club l’Ouest (ACO) and H24Project, has been equipped with two of their TAG GT units, the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU-500), as well as our ATLAS GT software. The first official tests of the H24EVO, scheduled for the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, will demonstrate the potential of this joint effort.
“The VCU-500 is our latest generation vehicle controller, designed specifically for electric racing applications and used widely across Formula E and the E1 series. The unit will function as the main vehicle controller on the H24EVO, providing powertrain and chassis control functionality, interfacing with all other electronic units on the car. The VCU-500 will make a wealth of data available, recording up to 2,000 parameters simultaneously, providing a comprehensive performance analysis, enabling teams to pursue their ideal strategy for optimising vehicle performance.”
Ford has patented a track-focused battery monitoring setup for electric vehicles according to Road & Track. The patent was originally filed by Ford Global Technologies on November 17, 2021, and was just published on October 15, 2024, under serial number US 12115880 B2. The document is titled “Battery electric vehicle monitoring systems and methods for track usage and off-roading,” which paints a fairly clear view of what the tech intends to do.
The authors of the patent recognize that EVs present specific challenges in enthusiast applications like off-roading, due largely to the limiting nature of the charging network. (It’s more difficult to convince someone to get off the pavement when they can’t bring spare fuel along for the ride.) Similarly, race tracks are often off the beaten path, with limited charging infrastructure of their own. Racing itself also requires a vehicle to complete a predetermined number of laps, which can be an issue if you need to drive your vehicle home again afterwards. This makes engaging in these activities with an EV a bit of a hassle — and requires a fair amount of guesswork when it comes.
Ford could make all of that much simpler with this new bit of tech, which will employ adaptive prediction systems to study huge amounts of onboard data. By looking at metrics like track conditions, straightaway lengths, and elevation changes, the system can use stored driver data and driver-requested parameters to provide a more accurate state of charge estimate following a track session or off-road activity.
Ford Patents Track-Focused Battery Monitoring Setup for Electric Vehicles
Series News
With a new Formula E racing season just a few weeks away, two teams have unveiled their liveries for their 2024/25 campaigns.
Mahindra has revealed its new car for the upcoming eleventh season of Formula E, which will see the introduction of the Gen3 EVO, the M11 Electro. Its new car – the M11Electro – is “completely new”, team principal Frederic Bertrand told RacingNews365, and features metallic red, silver satin and carbon black in its livery.
Kiro Race Co has unveiled a “vibrant” livery for its FIA Formula E GEN3 Evo car that will contest the 11th season. In a statement, Alex Hui, Kiro’s Team Principal, said: “We set out to create a design that is not only cool but also impossible to miss—whether on the track or in the paddock.
For the upcoming season, the Nissan Formula E Team has opted to continue with its popular cherry blossom livery, which has been a fan-favorite ever since it debuted at the start of Season 9. The pattern is meaningful for the outfit, both as a hint to its Japanese DNA and new beginnings, as well as now being part of Nissan’s identity in Formula E.
With the new Formula E season almost ready to go, Autosport takes a closer look at a new era of electrical innovation in motorsport.
“Honestly, it’s a whole new world” explains Albert Lau, McLaren’s chief engineer. [The AWD] made quite a big difference,” he relates. “Certainly on the kind of street tracks or tighter tracks that we race on, it’s going to be quite powerful. It’ll certainly make the cars a lot quicker in qualifying and make the Attack Mode more useful. It’s definitely going to make the car nicer to drive. In the race, when you go from rear-wheel drive to then AWD in Attack Mode, adapting quickly to that will be important. But I still think you can take some lessons from last year and that will benefit you in aspects of the race when you’re only running RWD.”
Check out the article for the full analysis.
Speaking of Formula E’s season 11, the series has released its official calendar and unfortunately, the rumors of the race in Thailand not happening have been confirmed. While this creates a two month gap in the calendar, organizers have indicated that they plan to host an as-yet-unannounced event that will “maintain engagement with fans”.
Along with a new logo, ADAC has revealed that the DTM will race using synthetic fuel in 2025.
“The DTM will run on a synthetic, fossil-free fuel from next season. This new climate-friendly fuel will contribute to the decarbonisation of the DTM and reduce CO2 emissions by 75 percent. The fuel, which is certified by the International Automobile Federation FIA, is produced by P1 Fuels, a green tech company from Berlin with years of experience in the development, manufacture and use of fossil-free, synthetic fuels. It will be used in the DTM, the ADAC GT Masters and ADAC GT4 Germany. The fuel is part of the DTM’s comprehensive sustainability concept, which also includes the initiative with water technology company BWT to reduce plastic waste. The project was launched in the ADAC GT Masters in 2021 and introduced to the DTM in 2023 and has so far saved more than one million plastic bottles.”
More details can be found here.
World Rally Championship teams have expressed their thoughts regarding the possibility of a last-minute change to remove hybrid power from Rally1 cars for next season. With the WMSC decision of October 17th confirming the change, the FIA has decided to abandon hybrid power from the WRC’s top-flight class, in a move that has been triggered by a mid-season change to the hybrid unit user guide from control supplier Compact Dynamics. “M-Sport-Ford team principal Richard Millener says the “extreme costs” now involved to run the hybrid units has made it no longer feasible for the Ford squad next year.”
Read more at Autosport here and read the full decision by the WMSC here.
The ETCR concept has been relaunched in China through a cooperation between Lisheng Sports and Michelin China, featuring a brand new set of electric touring car regulations.
ETCR was originally launched in 2021 by WSC, the TCR rights holders, under the name PURE ETCR. The championship gained FIA status for 2022 but was only held for one season before Discovery Sports Events announced it would withdraw as promoter in early 2023.
The new initiative from Lisheng Sports, the promoters of TCR China and TCR Asia, and Michelin China uses the ETCR name in an agreement with WSC.
Touring Car Times has all the details.
Getting to the Track Sustainably
- Swiss Start-Up Destinus to Revolutionize Travel with Hydrogen-Powered Hypersonic Jets (HYSKY)
- NASA Shows Renewed Interest in Hydrogen Aviation for a Sustainable Future (HYSKY)
- Aviation Partners Teams with 4Air for Emissions Tracking (AIN)
- Toyota Just Invested $500 Million in Electric Air-Taxi Maker Joby (Robb Report)
- Advancements in Hybrid-Electric, Hydrogen, and SAF Technologies Set to Transform Aviation Propulsion (HYSKY)
- Bizav Industry Leaders Weigh In on Tracing Path to Net Zero (AIN)
- €400 ‘green tax’ for Europe’s frequent flyers (Executive Traveler)
- International maritime sector must set sail for a just and clean transition (Carbon Market Watch)
- Alpine reveals Alpenglow Hy6 with its first V6 hydrogen engine (PMW)
- Alpine Could Launch an EV Model Like This A390 Concept in America (AutoWeek)
- GM adopting LFP batteries, could cut $6,000 from EVs (Green Car Reports)
- THK EV prototype teases in-wheel motors, electric brakes, four-wheel steering (Green Car Reports)
- Electrifying driving fun | Enyaq RS Race (Skoda)
- BMW CEO Urges EU to Rethink 2035 Petrol Car Ban Deadline (EV Magazine)
- Italian EV Motorcycle Maker Has Filed for Bankruptcy (AutoWeek)
- Green Hydrogen Will Be Far Costlier Than Estimated, Harvard Scientists Find (Bloomberg)
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.
