Ahead of the Dakar Rally in January 2022, engineering group Expleo and automotive specialist Faster are to collaborate on the design of a sports 4x4 powered by 100% hydrogen.
Photo: Expleo
Photo: Expleo
The companies say their engineers will develop the vehicle along the lines of "DakarFuture", an energy transition plan launched by the rally organisers earlier this year, and that the project will bring together experts in mechanical and electronics engineering for its design.
The idea of a hydrogen-powered vehicle for the Dakar rally-raid was first floated at Faster several years ago, under the leadership of famous driver and former race director Hubert Auriol. To turn the project into reality, engineering consultancy Expleo was chosen as a partner, due to its many years of experience in the design and development of hydrogen mobility.
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Since January 2021, a dedicated Expleo team has been working on designing the vehicle, in close cooperation with Faster, which is providing motor racing expertise.
Racing driver and former Dakar winner Jean-Pierre Fontenay is providing advice and insights based on his extensive experience of the world-renowned event and will be the driver when it takes to the grid. He will also be responsible for vehicle tune-up and management of the operating team.
Fontenay said the event was a passion for him, one that "combines adventure, endurance and pushing oneself to the limit. To be able to combine this with hydrogen technology, which is the future, is a dream for me. It is the best proving ground for the technology and the best possible vision of the sport for the next generation."
The combined team is tasked with transforming a standard combustion-powered rally-raid 4x4 - originally designed by Faster - into a 4x4 capable of running solely on hydrogen.
To ensure compatibility of the vehicle's original components with the new fuel cell, the engineers say a complete redesign of the vehicle will be necessary to replace the internal combustion engine with an electric one and integrate the hydrogen tanks.
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The companies say that they will be able to demonstrate a prototype as early as next year, before finalising the technical and technological details for the final race-ready vehicle.
Florent Biard, president of Faster, said: "For over 35 years, we have been a partner to the greatest sporting challenges in the world and the greatest innovations in the automotive industry. Our technological expertise in vehicles and our knowledge of Motorsport issues naturally guided us towards this ambitious project, looking to build the Dakar of the future, expected to increasingly focus on innovation and eco-friendliness."
Expleo's R&D and Innovation project manager, Vincent Jolivet, said that his company was proud to support the Rally's energy transition.
"The Dakar is as much a sporting race as a technological one, driving innovation and progress further. By participating in the complete transformation of a hydrogen vehicle, Expleo’s expertise is contributing directly to the future of mobility," he added.
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