HYRAZE League (2023) - Hydrogen Powered Race Cars

[ProjectWHaT]

https://www.adac-gt-masters.de/uk/a...ent-use-of-future-oriented-technology--265232

https://www.hwaag.com/en/news-en/70...-series-for-the-motorsport-of-the-future.html

https://www.motorsport.com/general/news/hyraze-hydrogen-powered-race-series/4859536/

When the HYRAZE League is launched in 2023, it will be the world's first automobile racing series to use environmentally-produced hydrogen as its energy source. It marks the birth of a virtually zero-emission, safe and sustainable form of motorsport, offering state-of-the-art entertainment. The use of cutting-edge technology means there is no need for there to be any conflict between action-packed motorsport, the conservation of resources and safety in the HYRAZE League. The races will be held with 800-hp hydrogen cars. The energy for the zero-emission drivetrain is provided by green hydrogen, which is converted into electricity in the car's two fuel cells, before being transported to the four electric motors.

The HYRAZE League is breaking new ground, and not only in terms of the drivetrain concept. The braking system in the four-wheel drive cars will also be the only one of its type in international motor racing. Any brake dust produced does not simply make its way unchecked into the environment, but is captured in the car and disposed of in an environmentally neutral manner afterwards. Special tyres developed from renewable raw materials also reduce tyre wear. Together with a strictly limited number of tyres, this significantly reduces the amount of fine dust pollution.

The new technology also has a major advantage for the racing drivers: the energy concept, which is optimised for sprint races, allows them to use the car's maximum performance for the full race distance without any limitations. The ability to rapidly fill both tanks during a race - a fundamental advantage of hydrogen technology over electric-battery driven cars - means the races can be extended to endurance distances at any time.

The chassis parts are manufactured from a natural fibre composite and can be designed freely by the teams as they see appropriate. This ensures that each team can present its own design language and body shape, independently of any production reference. Clear aerodynamics regulations ensure that no costly aerodynamics competition arises, despite the freedom when it comes to chassis design. Under the outer skin, the technology of the first generation of cars is based largely on standard parts, developed by the technology partners involved in the project. The holistic approach ensures that the HYRAZE League is a sustainable, environmentally friendly and technology-driven form of motorsport, which guarantees virtually equal opportunity for amateurs and professionals.

 

[TheHun99]

I don't know much about technicalities but I like the idea of hydrogen-powered racing, more than "regular" electric racing. While I'm not an ACO fan in general (don't get me wrong, I love Le Mans 24H), I hope their Mission H24 will be a good thing (https://www.missionh24.fr/en/, https://www.facebook.com/missionh24/).

I'd love to see something though that doesn't have hundreds and hundreds of horsepower, something in the 200-400HP range or even below 200HP, more suitable for cheaper racing (including club racing).

 

[Frank McGank]

Hydrogen-ICE and alcohol/vegetable oil fuels are the way forward in a post-peak oil world. The sooner regulatory bodies realise that, the better. This racing series is just ‘Formula E but even slower and more energy-inefficient’, and it stubbornly pushes electricity for the same marketing reasons. I hope it dies, and takes Formula E with it.

 

[MaxAttack]

Hydrogen-ICE and alcohol/vegetable oil fuels are the way forward in a post-peak oil world. The sooner regulatory bodies realise that, the better. This racing series is just ‘Formula E but even slower and more energy-inefficient’, and it stubbornly pushes electricity for the same marketing reasons. I hope it dies, and takes Formula E with it.

From my understanding, Hydrogen-electric is more efficient than battery electric due to the battery making process being dirty, and involving heavy metals that contribute to highly pollutive mining practices.

Asking people in the automotive engineering sphere, I'm repeatedly reassured that HFC-Electric is one of the most promising avenues of innovation.

The argument against bio-diesel is that on a large scale it's dependent on large scale agriculture which is not, in itself, particularly environmentally friendly.

I've been anticipating a Hydrogen-electric Motorsport series for a couple of months here, but as someone above mentioned I'd prefer to see them not try to take on F1 at their own "world's fastest things with wheels" game. That strategy has proven embarrassing for Formula E - hiding in city circuits with gimmick races to avoid looking absolutely pig slow next to the ICE cars.

They would be better off aiming at the Touring Car/Rallycross level of racing IMO.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

I've always read that storing hydrogen in liquid form is incredibly inefficient as seen here:

Although it's faster to refill and you get longer range, in terms of pure efficiency in energy conversion, using the normal power grid and batteries is much better

 

[EngieDiesel]

At the moment, hydrogen isn't nearly as efficient to produce in a usable form for small-scale applications like a car. But we can't afford to just put all our eggs in the electric basket either, so anything that promotes researching ways to make more alternative fuels for personal transport viable is always welcome.

 

[MaxAttack]

I've always read that storing hydrogen in liquid form is incredibly inefficient as seen here:

View attachment 950773



Although it's faster to refill and you get longer range, in terms of pure efficiency in energy conversion, using the normal power grid and batteries is much better

This is a deep and complex question - not to disregard your point - a degree or thesis level of work.

When considering the implications of efficiency we have to consider from source to socket - meaning with battery electric cars we have to consider the power grid and how we generate electricity. Without drawing on a bunch of figures and calculations - which hurt my head when I first learned them, so I will spare you the pain - I can tell you that if we were to switch all petrol cars to battery electrics right now, across the board, the environment really wouldn't be much better off, save for massively reduced NOx levels.

As the poster above said - it's imperative we explore every possible avenue in terms of alternate fuels, as what looks good on paper often doesn't work out so well in the real world. Manufacturers are happy to rake in money off of poorly thought out government green car schemes - a great example is the Mitsubishi Pajero PHEV in the Netherlands - and while they give a congratulatory feeling to the buyer, these are still massively heavy cars with ICEs in, whos plug-in hybrid features draw from a mostly coal/natural gas power grid.

Hydrogen has plenty of naysayers - just as plug-in hybrid does - but I personally find it the most encouraging area of research as efficient chemical storage does not present nearly as much of an engineering challenge as re-jigging the world's entire power grid. I think the fact we now have HFC production cars (Toyota Mirai) speaks volumes that HFC is not the flop some perceive it to be.

The Automotive Engineering school I attended is VERY keen to steer the environmentally-minded students students toward HFC and away from battery electric/hybrid powertrains; so very qualified people certainly believe this is the way to go. Not to say there is no debate, but that is the landscape as I have seen it.

Regardless, I think this is great news. If we ARE to have a battleground over which futuristic drivetrain we will carry forward, I feel we can all agree that going racing is a fantastic way to decide.