FIA and the organisers of the Extreme E championship are en route to introduce the world’s first-ever hydrogen-powered racing series. Dubbed the Extreme H (a progressive version of the Extreme E series), which will exclusively grid, off-road racing SUVS aptly named Pioneer 25, which generates battery power by exploiting the hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Pioneer 25 may not be the first hydrogen-powered race car, as a few rally and road racing prototypes with a hydrogen-powered drivetrain have been showcased over the years. Nonetheless, they were nothing more than a means of showing off technical prowess rather than functional, FIA-approved, race-ready cars.
On the contrary, the Pioneer 25 has passed all the designated FIA crash and safety – allowing the organisers of the championship to field their latest prototype in action for the inaugural Extreme H season.
A working prototype of this hydrogen-powered off-road racer not only stands as a mere showcase for the technological prowess of the modern automobile industry but also as a full-fledged race-ready machine approved by Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA)—ushering the world of motorsports into a reimagined future of sustainable racing.
A company called Spark Racing Technology has been tasked with designing and building the Pioneer 25 under the trusted leadership of Mark Grain, the championship’s technical director. Spark Racing Technology has worked intensively alongside Symbio, a leading innovator in hydrogen fuel cell technology, to optimise Symbio’s 75 kw hydrogen fuel cell Technology.
Both Spark and Symbio serve as the technical partners for the Extreme H series, coming together to integrate their field of expertise to create the Pioneer 25 – the World’s first-ever hydrogen-powered Off-road racer.
The Pioneer 25 is equipped with a 75kW Symbio’s cutting-edge hydrogen fuel cell technology; the engineers involved in the project quote will return some impressive performance figures, which translate into 400kW (550hp) of power output – which is enough to propel the 2200 kilograms of the offroad racers from 0-60 Mph under 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 124 mph.
The new state-of-the-art Hydrogen race car is due to get into action anytime this year, and when it does it’ll have to bear the weight of showcasing the future potential and capabilities of Hydrogen fuel cell technology, paving new frontiers in mankind’s search for new, alternate and clean renewable or sustainable fuel for the future of transport.
The championship is keen on encouraging manufacturers to bring in their in-house developed fuel cell technology which they have been developing for road car use; allowing them to use the championship as a test bed for their technology as well as an opportunity to boast their technological prowess in front of their rivals.
As of April 2025, The Pioneer 25 have passed all the FIA crash and safety tests and is deemed race-ready – the championship is eyeing a season launch anytime this year. The organisation has also conveyed its vision of attaining world championship status from the FIA very soon.
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