Extreme Hydrogen has unveiled the Pioneer 25 at Tower Bridge in London, UK, ahead of becoming the first motorsport series to switch to hydrogen fuel cell technology in 2025.
The launch took place on board the championship’s St. Helena ship – their means of transport for all the cars, equipment and infrastructure – which was moored at the Tower Bridge on the River Thames, alongside the HMS Belfast.
Since being founded in 2018, Extreme E’s objective has been to raise further awareness of climate-related issues by visiting specially-affected locations around the world, achieving the lowest carbon footprint out of all the FIA series since their inaugural season in 2021.
For the 2025 season and onwards, the championship has elected to transition to hydrogen fuel cell technologies, becoming the first FIA-certified championship to do so.
With endurance racing also looking to pursue the hydrogen path from 2027 at Le Mans, the technology has become ever more appealing in motorsport.
Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme H, said: “We are incredibly proud to introduce the world to the first hydrogen racing car and the Extreme H series.
“Fans can expect the same excitement with faster and more intense racing on track, but this launch is not just about a new vehicle; it’s about pioneering the future of sustainable motorsport.
“Hydrogen fuel cells offer a remarkable opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint and promote clean energy solutions, and we are proud to lead this charge with Extreme H.
“Our racing series has always been unique, but its future as Extreme H undoubtedly marks racing’s new frontier.”
Carlos Sainz, co-founder of ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team, who was on stage at the launch to unveil the new Pioneer 25 car, added: “Venturing into hydrogen is a really exciting prospect for our series.
“It is all about pioneering new paths into sustainable mobility and this championship is unique in the sense that it puts the latest technology to the test in the toughest environments in the world.
“Hydrogen has a pivotal role to play on both the road and in racing, so Extreme H will be a key stepping stone into what the future of driving will look like.”
Mark Grain, Technical Director at Extreme E, said: “There has been no compromise with the Pioneer 25.
“Spark Racing Technology and Symbio have done a tremendous job in developing the Extreme H car, which is fit for our exciting new era as a hydrogen-powered championship.
“We’ve learnt a lot from the ODYSSEY 21, which we have carried forwards, but it’s an all-new chassis and a purpose-built racing car for the hydrogen fuel cell.
“We wanted the racing to be more intense and we wanted the race cars to be faster.
“The Pioneer 25 is a significant upgrade on the ODYSSEY 21.
“Overall performance of the car has taken a big step forward.
“The all-new suspension geometry with driver adjustable shock absorbers from FOX on the Extreme H car provides a great platform for the power and torque that’s going to be available to the drivers.
“We’ve demonstrated EVs can cope with very harsh environments and racing in hard conditions in Extreme E, so moving to Extreme H is a natural progression.
“We want to demonstrate to the world that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can be exciting, they can be rugged and they can be very robust.
:We want to carry through that development with the Pioneer 25.”
A public demonstration is scheduled to take place at Extreme E’s next event on the 2024 calendar, the Hydro X Prix in Scotland on July 13-14, as the 2025 teams are set to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
