MissionH24 running at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
On the Belgian track, on May 11, as part of the 3rd round of the FIA WEC 2024, the H24, an electric hydrogen racing prototype from MissionH24, a collaborative program between the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and H24Project, is evolving in company of another hydrogen car, the Alpenglow from Alpine, which will complete its first official kilometers in public on the circuit.
With the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, MissionH24 has always maintained a special relationship and 2024 will prove it again.
In 2018, this collaborative program between the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and H24Project for the creation of an H2 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship, apparently revealed its strategy for the Endurance, at the same time organizing a demonstration and hydrogen refueling of the first hydrogen electric laboratory vehicle, the LMPH2G. The challenge then began.
The following years saw the installation of the first H2 mobile station, built by TotalEnergies, in the paddock, then at the edge of the track, and also the engagement of these pioneering prototypes, the LMPH2G then the H24, in tests. free entries in the Michelin Le Mans Cup as part of the European Le Mans Series.
In 2023, during the round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Spa-Francorchamps, the LMPH2G performed a demonstration lap for the many spectators who came to see the formidable Endurance field a few weeks before the centenary of the 24 Hours. of Le Mans, with a crew symbolic of the link between MissionH24 and the legendary Belgian track: Pierre Fillon, president of the ACO, at the wheel, and Amaury Bertholomé, general director of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, as passenger.
May 11, 2024 will be a new milestone. A few tens of minutes before the start of the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, 3rd round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, the H24 will complete several laps of the legendary Belgian slide, in the company of another hydrogen vehicle, the 'Alpine's Alpenglow, equipped with a combustion engine while the H24 uses a fuel cell, supplied by Symbio, one of the valuable partners with TotalEnergies, Michelin, Plastic Omnium, Richard Mille and Dietsmann.
This demonstration of two hydrogen vehicles deploying two different technologies illustrates the specificity of Endurance. Its sporting regulations welcome and encourage the variety of solutions, particularly for the energy transition. The TotalEnergies mobile H2 station will be deployed to refuel these two pioneering machines.
Throughout the event, spectators will be able to deepen their knowledge and maintain their interest in hydrogen by visiting the Hydrogen Village, dedicated to the zero-emission competition, installed in the heart of the fan zones.
In parallel with these hydrogen activities on track and for the public, an H2 training forum will be organized in Spa-Francorchamps, by Automotive Skills Alliance, GreenSkillsforH2 and Skills Alliance for Industrial Symbiosis, European entities.
Hydrogen forum at the TotalEnergies 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps
A Hydrogen VET Forum will be organized within the framework of the European Skills Agenda by the Automotive Skills Alliance, GreenSkillsforH2 and Skills Alliance for Industrial Symbiosis, European initiatives and projects dedicated to the development of skills needed to deliver on the EU's ambition to transition to a climate neutral economy by 2050, in collaboration with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest.
The Hydrogen VET Forum will be held as part of the FIA 2024 World Endurance Championship, during the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, on an emblematic track for MissionH24 which did its first official laps there in 2018.
Aimed at teachers, the event will provide an overview on the latest developments in hydrogen technology and strengthen hydrogen education in Europe. The event will also include workshops with hydrogen experts from the world of motor racing, including those from MissionH24, a program run in collaboration with the ACO and H24Project. It represents, once again, the formidable role of Endurance racing as a technological laboratory. Thanks to its hydrogen strategy, the ACO is recognized in Europe and by the European Commission as a key player in the energy transition.