Sports

Andy Green Sets Hydrogen Land Speed Record

Is this proof that hydrogen is ready for real-world use or a flashy distraction from its practical failures?

Published AUG 12

#Sports

Andy Green Sets Hydrogen Land Speed Record

Story

Above: The JCB Hydromax team at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, U.S., on Aug. 12. Image credit: FIA via X

The Facts

Andy Green, a former Royal Air Force pilot, set a new world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle on Tuesday, reaching an average of 406.320 miles per hour (mph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
FIA
New York Post
Independent
Green achieved the record in the British engineering company JCB's Hydromax, which is powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines with a combined 1,600 brake horsepower, over two runs of 400.623 mph and 412.135 mph.
JCB
JCB
JCB developed the engines as part of a £100 million ($135.3 million) program to manufacture "super-efficient hydrogen engines" originally launched in 2021, which the firm claims are now also used to power JCB machinery and equipment.
JCB
JCB
The Hydromax result surpassed the previous Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)- recognized hydrogen combustion record of 185.5 mph, set by the BMW H2R in 2004, as well as the 303 mph achieved by the hydrogen fuel cell, making the Hydromax the fastest of its kind.
FIA
JCB
The FIA, motorsport's global governing body, confirmed the provisional record, which is subject to ratification by its Land Speed Records Commission, with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem describing it as a "historic milestone."
FIA
The record is the latest broken by Green, who previously set the outright land speed record of 763.035 mph in the jet-powered Thrust SSC in 1997 and a diesel land speed record of 350.092 mph in JCB's Dieselmax in 2006.
FIA
GB News
BBC News

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

JCB has just proved hydrogen combustion is not some far-off dream but a present reality. Using the same production engines already powering JCB machines on job sites today, Andy Green has destroyed the previous hydrogen record. This example serves as definitive evidence that zero-emission hydrogen power can compete at the highest level of performance without sacrificing speed or reliability.

JCB

FIA

Narrative B

A speed record is one thing; the assertion that it means hydrogen will change the world is quite another. After all, refueling stations are shutting down, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are far less efficient, and even trucking experts say hydrogen wastes most of its energy before it ever reaches a wheel. Betting on hydrogen as a transportation fuel is chasing a technology that fails to match its competitors.

Forbes