This strategic partnership between the ACO program and H24Project, along with the Japanese manufacturer, demonstrates the automotive industry’s commitment to decarbonization through hydrogen.
MissionH24 and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will work together on key areas: aerodynamics and cooling. The H24EVO, MissionH24’s latest hydrogen-powered electric prototype, will benefit from this collaboration.
With this completely new technology in racing, studies and research are needed to make hydrogen-powered machines more efficient than conventional combustion engines. A Hydrogen Endurance category is expected to appear on the track by 2028. As a reminder, liquid hydrogen has been chosen to power prototypes equipped with fuel cells or combustion engines.
MissionH24 has chosen the fuel cell for the H24EVO. Bassel Aslan, in charge of developing this innovative machine, will be able to rely on the expertise and resources of Toyota GR to define the most efficient aerodynamics and cooling system possible. A schedule of studies, then tests, and finally validations will be put in place.
Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO and Co-President of MissionH24:
“For MissionH24, which already has valuable partnerships, notably with leading international companies, announcing this collaboration with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing today is a major new step. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has been involved for several years in the deployment of hydrogen in competitions in order to decarbonize racing and more global mobility, as well as industry. Toyota is leading a real fight against CO2. Being able to rely on such a partner ensures an unwavering commitment to achieving our objective: to offer a technological laboratory demonstrating to all the potential of hydrogen to succeed in the energy transition.”
Jean-Michel Bouresche, CEO of H24Project, Co-President of MissionH24:
“I have been observing Toyota’s involvement in motorsport for many years, particularly in endurance racing, with 7 Constructors’ World Championship titles since 2014 and 5 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, among others. To be able to count today on a player of this caliber, at the forefront of technology and innovation, alongside MissionH24 is a great honor and a source of great pride. I am convinced that Toyota’s technical contribution and experience will be very beneficial to the development of the H242EVO and will contribute to achieving MissionH24’s objectives, namely the decarbonization of motorsport.”
Bassel Aslan, Technical Director of MissionH24:
“Toyota has declared the war against CO2 at a very early stage with hybrid automotive solution for mass production. Who can forget the Prius. Today by joining MissionH24, Toyota joins another motorsport decarbonization battle. Toyota expertise will be of great added value to the aero and cooling performance of our next hydrogen car prototype H24EVO. Finding the right trade-off between an efficient cooling system and performant aerodynamic behavior will be the challenge that we trust to overcome thanks to Toyota support.”
Kazuki Nakajima, vice-chairman TOYOTA GAZOO Racing:
“As Bassel mentioned, we are pleased to announce that TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will become a strategic partner of MissionH24.TOYOTA has been advancing our hydrogen technology in domestic racing in Japan, in “Super Taikyu”, led by Morizo-san, our Chairman Akio Toyoda. We are also working on technology development with an eye toward future global race participation, including the liquid hydrogen-fueled “GR LH2 Racing Concept” that was unveiled at H2 Village on Wednesday. We will support the strengthening of the MissionH24 project by utilizing the know-how we have gained in developing hydrogen technology through motorsports. ACO is a pioneer of hydrogen in motorsports, and we empathize with their strong commitment. As well as our technical contribution, we would like to build a partnership that can expand the potential of hydrogen not only in motorsports but also in other fields. TOYOTA believes that carbon neutrality is an urgent issue for cars to remain necessary in society and that a variety of options are required to achieve this. We will continue to work on hydrogen technology as one of the technologies within our multi-pathway approach. We look forward to working with the ACO and MissionH24 towards a carbon-neutral future for Le Mans.’’
