Formula Zero was an organization based out of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and was founded in 2003. Its vision was to demonstrate that zero emissions technology can be both fun and sustainable at the same time by racing to get people interested in hydrogen fuel cell technology. In 2005, Formula Zero began construction of the Mark 2, the world's first fully functional fuel-cell powered go-kart using ultracapacitors for energy storage. On October 26, 2006, the Mark 2 set an official FIA record of 1/8 of a mile in 11.869 seconds. The Mark 2 was featured on the Discovery Channel as a part of the FutureCar television series. Formula Zero set a new FIA record with the Mark 2 in September 2007. [1] [2]
The 2008 Formula Zero Championship was the world's first hydrogen fuel cell race series. The first race series consisted of six universities from all over the world competing in time-trialed races on a two-mile mobile race track. Potential race locations include London, Spain and several other international cities, including one in the USA (South Carolina, March 2009). The Championship began on August 22, 2008 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
In March 2011, the Formula Zero Championship project was shut down with no further events planned. [3]
Team | University | Country |
---|---|---|
Element One | Lawrence Technological University | United States |
Greenchoice Forze | TU Delft | The Netherlands |
Imperial Racing Green | Imperial College London | United Kingdom |
EUPLATech2 | EUPLA | Spain |
Zero Emission Racing Team | Groep T | Belgium |
HercUCLAs | University of California-Los Angeles | United States |
A hydrogen vehicle is a type of alternative fuel vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen-fueled space rockets, as well as automobiles and other transportation vehicles. Power is generated by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy, either by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to power electric motors or, less commonly, by burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine.
A zero-emission vehicle, or ZEV, is a vehicle that does not emit exhaust gas or other pollutants from the onboard source of power. The California definition also adds that this includes under any and all possible operational modes and conditions. This is because under cold-start conditions for example, internal combustion engines tend to produce the maximum amount of pollutants. In a number of countries and states, transport is cited as the main source of Greenhouse gases and other pollutants. The desire to reduce this is thus politically strong.
Toyota Racing Development is the in-house tuning shop for all Toyota, Lexus and formerly Scion cars. TRD is responsible both for improving street cars for more performance and supporting Toyota's racing interests around the world. TRD produces various tuning products and accessories, including performance suspension components, superchargers, and wheels. TRD parts are available through Toyota dealers, and are also available as accessories on brand-new Toyotas and Scions. Performance parts for Lexus vehicles are now labeled as F-Sport and performance Lexus models are labeled F to distinguish Lexus's F division from TRD.
A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity generally using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen. Most fuel cell vehicles are classified as zero-emissions vehicles that emit only water and heat. As compared with internal combustion vehicles, hydrogen vehicles centralize pollutants at the site of the hydrogen production, where hydrogen is typically derived from reformed natural gas. Transporting and storing hydrogen may also create pollutants.
Venturi is a Monaco-based automotive manufacturer. Founded in 1984 by French engineers Claude Poiraud and Gérard Godfroy as MVS , the company's purpose was to compete in the "Grand Tourisme" market. This was only the most recent post-war attempt at building a sporty luxury car in France, following in the footsteps of Facel Vega, Monica, and Ligier. As with its predecessors, Venturi was immediately faced with many challenges ranging from an unknown name to its under-capitalized and under-staffed state. Venturi did nonetheless manage to continue in production for nearly sixteen years, declaring bankruptcy in 2000. The same year, Monegasque Gildo Pallanca Pastor purchased Venturi, and decided to focus on electric-powered motors. This change of direction led to the limited-production Fétish, the first electric sports car in the world. Following the public's enthusiasm for this first electric model, the brand developed 5 other innovative concept cars.
The issue of environmentalism in motorsport surrounds the whole of auto racing to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions contributing to global warming.
Element One is Lawrence Technological University's race team from Detroit, Michigan that competed in the 2008 Formula Zero Championship, the world's first hydrogen fuel cell race series.
The Toyota Racing Series is New Zealand's premier "open-wheeler" motorsport category. The Series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. The cars are also the category for the New Zealand Grand Prix – one of only two races in the world with FIA approval to use the Grand Prix nomenclature outside Formula One.
The 2009 GP2 Series season was the forty-third season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also fifth season under the GP2 Series moniker. The season consisted of twenty races at ten rounds, beginning on 9 May at the Circuit de Catalunya and finishing on 20 September at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. The Algarve circuit hosted its first GP2 weekend, and was the only new circuit on the calendar. The Nürburgring also returned as part of its rotation with Hockenheim as the home of the German Grand Prix.
A hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicle (HICEV) is a type of hydrogen vehicle using an internal combustion engine. Hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles are different from hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Instead, the hydrogen internal combustion engine is simply a modified version of the traditional gasoline-powered internal combustion engine. The absence of carbon means that no CO2 is produced, which eliminates the main greenhouse gas emission of a conventional petroleum engine.
Forze is a student team specialised in hydrogen electric racing. It was founded at the Delft University of Technology in 2007 by Edgar van Os and has built 8 hydrogen fuel cell racing vehicles. The team's offices and workshops are located at the Schiehal in Delft, an old factory terrain in which many innovative companies have settled. In 2007, the team began designing and building go-karts with a hydrogen-electric drivetrain. With these vehicles they participated in the Formula Zero competition, hence the name ForZe. After five years the first full-size hydrogen race car was built, the Forze VI. Another three years later the project of the Forze VII began. This became the first hydrogen-electric racecar to ever participate in an official race against fossil-fueled vehicles. The latest iteration, the Forze VIII, was the first hydrogen-electric race car to ever beat petrol powered cars, and came in 2nd place at the Gamma Racing Days in Assen in 2019. Over the coming years the team wants to develop its cars in such a way that they can compete in a Le Mans Prototype endurance series.
TTXGP are the official promoters of FIM eRoadRacing, the world's premier electric motorsport race series. Founded by Azhar Hussain MBE & Hersh Patel in 2008, TTXGP started life as the first zero-carbon, clean-emission race to take place at the Isle of Man TT as teams from around the globe raced electric motorbikes.
Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is also the current chairman of Formula E Holdings. The inaugural championship race was held in Beijing in September 2014. Since 2020, the series has FIA world championship status.
ITM Power plc is an energy storage and clean fuel company founded in the UK in 2001. It designs, manufactures, and integrates electrolysers based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology to produce green hydrogen using renewable electricity and tap water. Hydrogen produced via electrolysis is used for mobility, Power-to-X, and industry.
Electric motorsport is a category of motor sport that consists of the racing of electric powered vehicles for competition, either in all-electric series, or in open-series against vehicles with different power trains. Very early in the history of automobiles, electric cars held several performance records over internal combustion engine cars, such as land speed records, but fell behind in performance during the first decade of the 20th century. With the renaissance of electric vehicles during the early 21st century, notable electric-only racing series have been developed, for both cars and motorcycles, including for example, the FIA Formula E Championship. In other racing events, electric vehicles are competing alongside combustion engine vehicles, for example in the Isle of Man TT and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and in some cases winning outright.
Richard Verschoor is a Dutch racing driver. He is a former Red Bull Junior Team member, the 2016 SMP F4 and Spanish F4 champion, where he won both single-seater championships in his debut year. After two years in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, Verschoor graduated to the Formula 2 Championship with MP Motorsport.
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the long-term Formula One feeder series GP2.
The FIA Formula 3 Championship is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship and organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship and FIA Formula 2 Championships. It was the result of a merger between two third-tier single-seater racing championships, the GP3 Series and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship as it was announced on 10 March 2018. The championship is part of the FIA Global Pathway consolidation project plan. Unlike its predecessor, the Formula 3 European Championship, the series runs exclusively in support of Formula One races.
Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that uses spec electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. All racing locations are chosen to raise awareness for some aspects of climate change and Extreme E maintains a "Legacy Programme" which intends to provide social and environmental support for those locations. The series also promotes gender equality in motorsport by mandating that all teams consist of a female and a male driver who share equal driving duties. The first season began with the Desert X-Prix in Saudi Arabia in April 2021.