Extreme H, the world’s first hydrogen racing series, has successfully had its racing car, the Pioneer 25, pass the mandatory chassis crash tests set by the FIA.
This achievement makes it the first hydrogen-powered car to meet the rigorous FIA crash test regulations, focused on side impact and rollover safety, paving the way for a new era of technology and innovation in the industry.
“I am pleased to say that the Extreme H Pioneer 25 has passed its FIA mandatory chassis crash tests with great success,” said Mark Grain, Technical Director of Extreme E, to Racer.
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“We should not underestimate this. It’s the first hydrogen racing car to meet the FIA’s strict criteria. We’ve worked with the FIA to define these crash tests, and there has been a great collaboration to achieve this significant milestone. No other hydrogen racing car has gone through crash tests like ours, so this is a big achievement,” he continued.
The next steps
The next step for the Pioneer 25 will be to undergo the FIA resilience tests, which will assess the durability of its hydrogen tanks and battery packs. Once this phase is completed, more track testing will take place in October.
“The chassis itself is much stronger; however, we have added carbon composite crash structures that sit over the two hydrogen tanks, and for the side impact test, we have composite structures on each side to absorb energy,” Grain added.
“The high and low-pressure hydrogen systems were also installed during the tests. The systems were pressurized for both tests, and the pressures inside them were monitored as live data. This was to ensure that the systems did not get damaged and lose pressure,” he concluded.
Finally, the manufacturing of the Extreme H cars for its inaugural season will begin in the coming weeks, with the expectation that the vehicles will be delivered to the teams before the end of 2024.
