The Extreme H hydrogen series is set to allow road car companies to bring their own fuel cell technologies, in a decision made ahead of the planned inaugural season this year.
Extreme H is an off-road sprint race series created by Formula E boss Alejandro Agag and sanctioned as the FIA Extreme H World Cup. All competitors will use the Pioneer 25, a bespoke electric vehicle built by Spark Racing Technology that runs on a hydrogen-electric powertrain.
The plan throughout the Pioneer 25’s development had been for all cars to use the same hydrogen fuel cell stack supplied by Symbio, a French company that is part of the Stellantis group.
However, the situation changed in early January after recent discussions involving the organisers, prospective manufacturers and the FIA.
BMW, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota, which provides the spec hydrogen fuel tanks, are among those interested in bringing their own fuel cell technology, according to Extreme H technical director Mark Grain.
‘The decision behind that is, if we have a single fuel cell supplier, that’s advancing their fuel cell,’ Grain told Racecar Engineering.
‘Whereas if we open it up, we believe we’re going to open the opportunity for a lot more fuel cell development across different manufacturers. That develops the whole breed.
‘If we just stick to the single fuel cell supplier, it will advance that, but this way we are sharing the knowledge and allowing fuel cells to develop faster across different suppliers.’
Addressing the timing of the decision shortly before the first Extreme H season is due to start, Grain said: ‘We had to start somewhere. We secured a supplier from Symbio, and we’ve done that development.
‘To have tried to do all of that [manufacturer fuel cell integration] – because there was the rest of the car to develop as well – at the same time, it would have required different chassis and variants and so on.
‘We wanted to be laser-focused on developing the car on the Symbio package. And then after that, consider it, and open it up.’
The fuel cell stack is at the heart of the Pioneer 25: hydrogen gas fuel is stored in twin tanks and injected into each cell, where an electrochemical reaction breaks down complete hydrogen molecules and uses their extracted electrons to generate electrical energy. Multiple cells are bunched together to form a stack.
In Extreme H, the electrical energy from the cells is mainly used to charge the 325kW spec Fortescue Zero battery pack, situated on the floor of each Pioneer 25. The battery then feeds a pair of Helix electric motors, which deliver around 400kW of power to the wheels.
Extreme H is keen for road car manufacturers to bring fuel cell technology they have already developed and showcase its ability to handle rough terrain, including jumps. The companies that Grain mentioned have already been active in testing or implementing fuel cells.
The approach echoes Extreme H’s ‘road to race, back to road’ philosophy that was originally applied with the Symbio fuel cell, which was based on technology designed for commercial vehicles.
It remains to be seen if opening up fuel cell supply will make the series more attractive to major manufacturers. However, Grain does not believe that it would result in high spending on new development.
‘If you think about road to race and back to road, we’re talking about taking units that are off the shelf,’ he said. ‘We’re talking to manufacturers about bringing existing technology and just being able to showcase it.
‘Hydrogen fuel cells are cool pieces of kit. It’s not about development of bespoke, racing hydrogen fuel cells costing millions. We’re very confident that we’re not opening the doors to ridiculous spend.’
Manufacturers can also customise the bodywork of the Pioneer 25 to give their car a unique design. This was also allowed in Extreme E, although not everyone took up the offer.
Beyond that and the fuel cell, Extreme H has no plans to open other parts of the vehicle to the manufacturers.
‘Not at all. That’s definitely not on the cards,’ stated Grain. ‘It’s a chassis that comes from Spark, so it’s a single-make championship still.
‘But if you are a manufacturer and you want to install your fuel cell into that chassis, that’s great. Like we did in Extreme E where you could add styling cues to the bodywork and headlamps, which is like the ‘face’ of the car. Those are very low cost.’
The change of plan to allow bespoke manufacturer fuel cells comes after the Pioneer 25 was developed solely with the Symbio stack.
‘We are the supplier of the fuel cell for the car, but we are not exclusive,’ acknowledged Serge Grisin, motorsport director at Symbio.
‘Based on the way it works on the car, the fuel cell is providing the energy. But the performance is limited to the electrical engine. To be honest, I don’t know exactly what the interest of a fuel cell maker could be, where they can differentiate.
‘For us, we are open to the competition. We have already had a lot of information and feedback in the last few months about the last few tests with the racecar.’
The technical regulations have yet to be finalised after this latest development, so the opening of fuel cell supply is technically a proposal for now. Extreme H management travelled to Geneva for meetings with the FIA in early January and the two bodies are set to continue working on their plans in the coming weeks.
‘We are still having those conversations, so probably not wise to talk about those things just yet, before myself and the FIA have something in concrete to discuss later,’ said Grain.
‘It was super collaborative with the FIA [last] Monday. Their enthusiasm is strong.
‘Certainly for me, working with the promoter in a championship where I was previously a competitor; working with the FIA and how we’re going to bring the world’s first hydrogen championship, is very encouraging.’
Grain suggested that it ‘wouldn’t be impossible’ for a road car manufacturer’s fuel cell to be ready to appear in the first season of Extreme H, despite a narrow timescale.
‘We’ve got strong interest, I think is the best way we can answer that. There are timescales to think about, if you think about packaging something and going out there to prove it out.
‘It can be a challenge, but it wouldn’t be impossible. We have got strong interest and we’re having strong conversations on a regular basis.’
No team announcements have yet been made for the inaugural Extreme H season, while the final calendar is also still to be confirmed. Spark recently completed the first production run of ten Pioneer 25s, having frozen the design following an extensive test programme.
Extreme H’s electric off-road predecessor, Extreme E, ran for three full seasons before ending midway through 2024 as the organisers pooled their focus into developing the FIA’s first hydrogen series.
