The approval last June of the first technical and safety regulations for the use of liquid hydrogen in motorsport marks a step that could redefine the future of racing. For the FIA, this is a historic moment: not just a new set of rules, but the opening of a technological laboratory where aerospace, automotive engineering, electronics, and materials science converge. This ecosystem of expertise, as explained by FIA head of research and development Nicolas Aubourg, aims to accelerate the transition toward truly sustainable motorsport while preserving the innovative spirit that has always defined racing.
The motorsport laboratory
From the introduction of disc brakes in the 1950s to the highly efficient hybrid power units of Formula 1 in 2014, motorsport has always been fertile ground for innovation. The constant search for competitive advantage, combined today with society’s growing demand for sustainability, creates an ideal environment for exploring new technologies.
In June, in Macao, the World Motor Sport Council ratified the first set of regulations for vehicles powered by liquid hydrogen. These standards are designed not only to guarantee safety and performance, but also to act as a platform to accelerate the development of this technology.
“The FIA is always looking for greater sustainability, to decarbonize motorsport, and hydrogen is perhaps the ultimate expression of that goal,” Nicolas Aubourg explains. “You put H₂ and oxygen from the air into the engine and the only by-product at the exhaust is water, provided the combustion process is properly controlled and completed.”
A coalition of experts
The project, launched in 2021, initially focused on compressed gaseous hydrogen, the most common solution in road vehicles. However, significant limitations soon became clear.
“If you want to design, for example, a hypercar, you need very large and rather heavy tanks, which makes designing a race car complicated,” Nicolas Aubourg says. “In addition, refuelling times are long: it is very difficult to get below two or three minutes.”
The move to liquid hydrogen, which is denser and lighter, came in the winter of 2023. But the territory was largely unexplored. This is why the FIA involved expertise from unexpected sectors, such as the space industry.
“When you look at who works with liquid H₂, one sector stands out above all others: rocket science and the space industry. In Europe, that means Arianespace and the Ariane Group. They have a huge amount of expertise, so we brought them in and they are still very active,” Nicolas Aubourg explains.
Alongside them, companies such as Air Products and FORVIA have helped create a truly multidisciplinary ecosystem.
“For people working in aerospace, automotive, trucks, the military, aircraft… motorsport represents a liberating environment,” Nicolas Aubourg adds. “We are not interested in reliability and comfort: only performance and prototypes matter. In aviation, it can take 10 or 20 years to bring a product to market. In motorsport, it is a five-year plan.”
The technical challenges of liquid hydrogen
Once the direction was set, the FIA Technical Department began building the ‘building blocks’ of the new regulations: storage, temperature control, weight reduction, and refuelling procedures.
The most complex issue is thermal management.
“Liquid H₂ is extremely cold, and to keep it in a liquid state you need complete insulation from heat,” Aubourg explains. “And if there is one thing a race car generates, it is heat. As soon as it is exposed to ambient conditions, you get what is known as boil-off.”
Boil-off must be controlled to avoid overpressure, leaks, or flare-ups. The solution, however, is surprisingly effective.
“As soon as you apply a vacuum jacket around the tank, efficiency can be remarkable,” Aubourg says. “In motorsport, we do not need to store the liquid for long periods, so we are finding new solutions for insulation, dormancy, and packaging.”
At the same time, the FIA is conducting physical tests to validate these solutions. “We started testing in October and it is still ongoing,” he explains. “We build a storage system with 20 kilograms of liquid H₂, test overpressure, cut pipes, and then destroy the system to see what happens.”
Looking ahead: lighter tanks and 40-second refuelling
Reducing weight remains a key objective.
“Instead of the 100 or 120 litres needed for a race car running on fossil fuels, with LH₂ you would need around 300 litres,” Nicolas Aubourg explains. “But the weight of the storage system is decreasing every day thanks to collaboration with manufacturers. Some are already creating composite tanks.”
Pumps are another major challenge.
“Existing LH₂ pumps weigh around 30 kilograms, compared to 500 grams for a fossil fuel pump,” he notes. “But prototypes are coming.”
Refuelling, finally, is a crucial chapter.
“Truck stations refuel in ten minutes. In motorsport, we need to get down to 40 seconds, one kilogram per second,” Nicolas Aubourg says. “It is a demanding challenge, but early simulations look promising.”
For Aubourg, this regulation represents far more than a set of technical rules: it is an innovation accelerator.
“It has been a long time since I saw motorsport as a laboratory like this,” he concludes. “People, especially younger generations, are extremely concerned about sustainability. If we want to keep racing tomorrow, we have to do this. It is our duty, but it is a duty that makes us happy.”
The new FIA regulations on liquid hydrogen open a phase in which motorsport once again becomes a laboratory for accelerated innovation. Thanks to collaboration between industry, research, and the aerospace sector, this technology could become a concrete bridge toward more sustainable competition. As Nicolas Aubourg reminds us, “if we want to keep racing tomorrow, we have to do this.” A challenge the FIA has chosen to turn into an opportunity.
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