Mission accomplished for the H24 at Spa-Francorchamps
MissionH24, a collaborative program between the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and H24Project, has been present since Thursday at Spa-Francorchamps, for the 3rd round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Its various actions during this Belgian weekend have one objective: to promote hydrogen in competition.
Exhibited in the hydrogen village, in the middle of the fan zone, the H24, an electric hydrogen racing prototype, still brings together so many visitors, curious to discover this new technology. If in the stand, the team can answer many questions, on the track, Stéphane Richelmi, one of the reference drivers, at the wheel of the H24, demonstrates the potential and reliability of hydrogen in competition.
After refueling at the H2 mobile station developed and operated by TotalEnergies, the H24 completed several loops of the legendary Belgian track at the end of the morning, a few hours before the start of the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, in front of a large audience.
Among them, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, secretary general of Hydrogen Europe, was particularly attentive to these demonstrations, as were the participants in the H2 forum, co-organized by Automotive Skills Alliance, GreenSkillsforH2 and Skills Alliance for Industrial Symbiosis and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest . Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO and co-president of MissionH24, as well as MissionH24 partners, Richard Mille and Pierre-Gautier Caloni (TotalEnergies), Frédéric Lequin, CEO of FIA WEC, Bernard Niclot, innovation manager for the ACO, Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, consultant and Amaury Bertholome, general director of the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, witnessed the zero-emission running of the H24 from the side of the track.
Next round : at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the H24 will take to the track on Saturday June 15th, alongside several hydrogen prototypes, notably the Alpenglow Hy4, revealed on May 10th at Spa.
Hydrogen at the heart of a European forum
As part of the European Skills Strategy, an H2 Forum was organised by the main European entities dedicated to the promotion of hydrogen (Automotive Skills Alliance, GreenSkillsforH2 and Skills Alliance for Industrial Symbiosis), in collaboration with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest.
The Forum was held as part of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, during the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, on an iconic circuit for MissionH24 which made its first official laps with its hydrogen electric prototype in 2018.
Intended for teachers, this event took place in the morning at the Technifutur Campus, in the afternoon in Fan zone, workshops with hydrogen experts of the automotive competition and in particular those of MissionH24 and its partners, TotalEnergies, Symbio, Michelin.
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Secretary General of Hydrogen Europe, was able to see the formidable technological laboratory that Endurance represents for the energy transition.
24 Hours of Le Mans: MissionH24 H24 and Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 on track Saturday 15 June
Following a first track experience that will take place tomorrow Saturday, May 11 at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, 3rd round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, The MissionH24 H24 and the Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 will meet on Saturday 15 June on the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit, in the presence of other hydrogen sports vehicles, a few hours before the start of the Endurance classic.
A world premiere will take place on Saturday, June 15, 2024, between 12 and 13 pm, on the occasion of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024: the H24, prototype of hydrogen electric race of MissionH24, will evolve on track a few hours before the start of the 92th edition, as it has already achieved in recent years, but in 2024, a significant change is to be noted: it will not be alone since several other hydrogen prototypes will accompany it for this pioneering demonstration. Evidence that MissionH24, the collaborative program between ACO and H24Project, is actually pursuing its goals.
Alpine will line up on the legendary Mancelle track the Alpenglow Hy4 which will have completed its first laps in public during the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this May 11, part of the 3rd round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. In the Belgian Ardennes, the deployment of hydrogen in competition has been encouraged for several years, through collaborations between the circuit and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Presented last year during the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the static model of the Alpine vehicle was exhibited in the Hydrogen village, organized within the circuit and dedicated to this new energy vector.
This year again, the Hydrogen ACO H2 village will host many activities dedicated to this technology.
A novelty is to be noted for 2024: a paddock H2 will present to the public the zero emission competition with different precursor prototypes as well as the mobile station H2 designed by TotalEnergies. A visit to this future competition world is a must. The Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 will feature in this H2 paddock, as well as other machines.
A hydrogen village in TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
In the fan zone of Spa-Francorchamps, which hosts the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship from Thursday to Saturday, spectators can discover hydrogen and low-carbon competition. On Saturday from 11:15, two hydrogen prototypes, the MissionH24 H24 and the Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 will take the track for three demonstration laps.
The third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship takes place from 9 to 11 May in Spa-Francorchamps. Since 2018, the Belgian circuit has been working closely with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA WEC, to deploy hydrogen in competition. It is indeed on this mythical slide that the MissionH24 program, aiming to create a hydrogen category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in FIA WEC, was officially presented almost six years ago, before many other eventsyou founders for this new era of Endurance.
In 2024, spectators will be able to learn about the zero-emission competition with a hydrogen village and the presence of the TotalEnergies H2 mobile station. Two hydrogen prototypes will be on display, including the H24, the first fuel cell race car to have evolved at this level of competition (Michelin Le Mans Cup).
Bassel Aslan, technical director of MissionH24, and Stéphane Richelmi, one of the program’s reference pilots, will be available to the public to present the hydrogen electric prototype, explain the driving of this vehicle that emits only water at its exhausts…
The hydrogen village is open:
Thursday: 9 am - 7:30 pm
Friday: 9 am - 7 pm
Saturday: 8:30 am - 8:30 pm
An important event is to be noted:
Saturday, May 11, from 11:15 am, the two hydrogen prototypes will be on track, for three demonstration rounds.
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.
24 Hours of Le Mans 2024: H2 prototypes on track Saturday June 15
A world premiere will take place on Saturday June 15, 2024 during the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans: the H24, MissionH24's hydrogen racing prototype, will be on track a few hours before the start of the 92nd edition, as it has already done been able to achieve it in recent years, but in 2024 it will not be alone since several other hydrogen prototypes will accompany it for this pioneering demonstration. Proof that MissionH24, the collaborative program between the ACO and H24Project, is concretely pursuing its objectives.
Created in 2018, MissionH24 helps promote hydrogen in competition, with the aim of creating an H2 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
This demonstration run of hydrogen prototypes demonstrates the commitment of manufacturers ready to join this new category, the future of endurance after the formidable era of the current hypercar.
Between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., on the main 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit, several hydrogen competition prototypes, using fuel cells and hydrogen combustion engines, will evolve at a sustained pace. The zero-emission competition will thus be presented to hundreds of thousands of spectators and television viewers. The centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans race has been an incredible technological laboratory since its creation in 1923. Today, it is working on the energy transition essential to the defense of the planet and is working for zero-emission mobility.
The participants in this zero CO2 emission driving will be officially revealed in the coming weeks.
See you now on June 15, 2024, shortly after 12 p.m., for this unique experience for competition and future mobility. This will be one of the first major highlights of this Le Mans weekend.
Stéphane Richelmi targets ELMS with Vector Sport
Reference pilot with Norman Nato of the MissionH24 program, Stéphane Richelmi is preparing for a lively 2024 calendar. In parallel with his involvement with the team for the creation of the new hydrogen electric prototype H24EVO, the driver will participate with the British entity Vector Sport https://www.instagram.com/vectorsportofficial/?hl=fr, in the entire season of the European Le Mans Series (6 races between April and October), in LMP2, with an additional objective: winning an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next June (June 15-16).
With his experience behind the wheel of pioneering prototypes, the various hydrogen electric prototypes of MissionH24 (LMPH2G and H24, before H24EVO in a few months), Stéphane Richelmi, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 in 2016 and title in this category in FIA WEC still in 2016, will take advantage of its commitment with Vector Sport in 2024 to maintain its competitiveness, its pugnacity, its racing outlook, facing multiple competitors in different categories. This collaboration in LMP2 in 2024 testifies to the quality and experience of the MissionH24 driver.
In 2024, Stéphane Richelmi will be at the helm of the H24 for development tests for the MissionH24 team, as well as for special events announced in the coming weeks. He will also contribute to the development of the new H24EVO.
Norman Nato, MissionH24's other leading driver, is entered in the FIA WEC in the Hypercar category (Hertz Team Jota), and in Formula E (Andretti) for 2024.
MissionH24 at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham
MissionH24 will be showcasing hydrogen-fuelled motor racing at Autosport International – billed as Europe’s largest motorsport show – at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre this week. The pioneering programme headed jointly by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and H24Project will ultimately lead to a hydrogen prototype class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
As we speed into 2024, the MissionH24 project team and partners are focusing their attention on the construction of the new H24EVO, while a full diary of major events offers multiple opportunities to bring the programme into the spotlight. First up is Autosport International – now named A24 – which will play host to the H24 prototype from 11 to 14 January.
The H24 car will be displayed in Motorsport Hall 3A where it will demonstrate the endurance discipline’s commitment to decarbonise racing through hydrogen. The H24 has a unique track record as the first electric-hydrogen prototype to have taken on a field of conventional ICE-powered cars in endurance races, in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, reaching the chequered flag every time.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans, established in 1923, is a crucial testing ground for technology. Today’s research has zero-emission racing in its sights. Hydrogen offers tremendous potential in this regard as Bassel Aslan, MissionH24’s Technical Director, will reveal on the live stage at 11AM CET on Sunday.
Mr Aslan will also outline progress on the upcoming H24EVO machine that will make its first track outing in 2025.
Further information on Autosport International 2024 is available here: https://autosportinternational.com/en/2024
MissionH24 at European H2 Week
The collaborative program between the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and H24Project takes part in this international meeting of hydrogen stakeholders, which will take place in Brussels on 20-24 November. It is organised by Hydrogen Europe, together with the European Commission and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.
At the invitation of Hydrogène Europe, the organizer of this event, a stand inspired by the Hydrogène Village of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in a reduced format and adapted to an indoor show, will present to visitors to Brussels Expo, this vector of energy that will decarbonize Endurance and more generally mobility.
The MissionH24 program, with its first hydrogen electric prototype, the LMPH2G, will constitute the central element of the system since motor racing, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship in particular, are the DNA of the 'CO.
The LMPH2G, this pioneering demonstrator, will allow the public to see the potential of hydrogen in extreme use, car racing. The operation of this electric prototype which produces its own electricity via the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the fuel cell will be explained concretely. The feedback from the team that developed the LMPH2G, before the H24 and now the H24Evo, can be shared by Bassel Aslan, the technical director of the program, present at the start of the week. Hydrogen in competition is neither science fiction nor the future, it is already the present and reality since in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, in 2022, the H24 has finished all the races in which it has participated. As a reminder, MissionH24, a collaboration between the ACO and H24Project, aims to create a Hydrogen category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in order to decarbonize this endurance classic.
Fun activities on the manufacture of hydrogen, or even on the history of the legendary endurance test, will complete this exhibition, located in Hall 7 of the Brussels Expo.