The Automobile Club de l’Quest (ACO) announced at Hyvolution Paris its plan to switch the MissionH24 H24EVO prototype from gaseous hydrogen to liquid hydrogen.
“Mission24 is exploring a new direction: liquid hydrogen,” the ACO and GreenGT joint venture wrote online. “This type of storage is more suited to the demands of the competition. The H24EVO will prove it.”
The vehicle was first unveiled in 2023 before a full-scale model was released for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. Originally, the H24EVO would have included two tanks storing 7.8kg of hydrogen at 700 bar to power the 300kW Symbio fuel cell.
Read more:MissionH24 brings hydrogen to competitive racing
The ACO has reportedly said the switch to liquid hydrogen will allow for somewhere between 11 and 14kg of hydrogen to be stored at -253°C, which could increase its range from around 25-30 minutes to “at least” 40 minutes.
H2 View understands that they have now updated the timeline for MissionH24, with bench testing of the 650kW electric motor to begin in October before a real-life example is expected in February 2026.
Whilst the car’s weight remains 1,300kg, its top speed could reach 340km/hr (211.27mph) – the top speed of a Formula 1 race car.
The initial track test may be conducted in April 2026.
Liquid hydrogen could offer several benefits for performance vehicles such as the H24EVO over gaseous hydrogen, such as higher energy densities, faster refuelling and lighter and more compact storage.
Hydrogen driving motorsports towards sustainability
Worth $5.11bn in 2022 and projected to reach a valuation of $7.47bn by 2028, the motorsports industry is in race to reduce its emissions and secure its future – with hydrogen’s role increasingly edging to the forefront of plans.
© Matt Ben Stone / Extreme H
The pinnacle of motorsports, Formula 1 (F1), amassed an average viewership of 1.11 million per race in the 2023 season, whilst the viewing figures for the first 12 races of the 2023 season in MotoGP saw a 20% audience increase from 2022, proving the scale of the motorsports market.
In 2019, F1 launched its Net Zero Carbon by 2030 initiative, after an extensive report into the championship’s environmental impact found it was responsible for generating 256,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions during the 2019 season.
F1’s governing body, the Federation Internationale de I’Automobile (FIA), established seven new engine regulations from 2026, such as F1 power units running on fully sustainable fuels, which has been researched and tested by the organisation and its partner ARAMCO.
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