RET reporter at this year’s centennial Le Mans 24 Hour race, Andrew Noble, witnessed the unveilings of a number of new hydrogen projects during the event. One of the most intriguing was from France’s Groupe GCK and its subsidiary Solution F.

Noble reports: The hydrogen unveilings began with Groupe GCK, showcasing its Solution F Foenix H2 GT racer. The Foenix H2 is built in the vein of a traditional GT platform, but with the primary difference being that the engine burns hydrogen as opposed to gasoline. The engine is a traditional 6.2 litre mechanically supercharged GM LT4 V8, with the internal geometry of the engine remaining essentially as it can be found in its stock guise.

Groupe GCK reports: ‘Based on a tried and tested architecture, this engine features an innovative direct hydrogen injection system that enables this gas to be used as a fuel. The dihydrogen molecule has a high energy density by mass (1 kg of this gas is equivalent to around 3 kg of petrol), and its combustion generates only water vapour and a small quantity of nitrogen oxides. Fitted with a latest-generation 700-bar storage tank developed by our partner Forvia, this car carries more than 8 kg of H2, giving it a significant range for a hydrogen-powered competition vehicle’.

The decision not to alter any of the primary engine components was a deliberate one. The engine control electronics have been adapted, along with the fuel delivery systems, to allow the engine to run on hydrogen, but there is scope for significantly more to come. The compression ratio remains standard, whilst lambda values are in the 1.3-1.4 range. For an ICE burning hydrogen, some might consider this a bit conservative, however this is by design at this stage of development.

The Foenix H2 has the initial intent to prove that it can be done, and that the combustion characteristics can be tamed to produce a predictable output, scaling on output from there. Currently, the engine is giving an output of approximately 450 kW, but the belief is that, with further development of the cylinder head geometries and in-chamber flow structures significant gains can be made.