Event

Extreme H: What’s next for the world’s first hydrogen World Cup?

by Samarth Kanal

7min read

Extreme H 2025

<div>Hydrogen motorsport is here. And it’s here to stay, after Extreme H made its debut with the first-ever FIA hydrogen World Cup in October 2025.<br></div>

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How did the inaugural event unfold, and what’s next for the off-road racing series?
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Saudi Arabia hosted the three-day event in Qiddiya in the Tuwaiq Mountains on October 9-11 2025. It was there that the Pioneer 25 hydrogen-powered race car finally took to the dirt, gravel and sand after being unveiled in June 2024.

Raceteq caught up with Extreme H, the FIA, and winning team Jameel Motorsport to learn about the World Cup and find out more about how it will evolve in the future - including plans to have internal combustion engines compete alongside hydrogen vehicles.
Extreme H 2025

The field of drivers for the 2025 Extreme H World Cup in the Tuwaiq Mountains near Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia. All images courtesy of Extreme H/Spacesuit Media

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How the Pioneer 25 and Extreme H are powered

The Pioneer 25 was built and designed by Spark Racing Technology, the French manufacturer that also makes cars for the all-electric Formula E championship.

As a replacement for Extreme E, the Extreme H car transitioned from electric power to hydrogen power using a 75-kiloWatt (kW) hydrogen fuel cell built by Symbio.

It’s in this fuel cell that hydrogen molecules are carried by two 2kg storage tanks into the anode of the fuel cell. There, they are split into electrons and protons. The protons pass through a membrane to the cathode through an electrolyte membrane, while the electrons are redirected externally through an electrical circuit, generating electrical current.

Electrical power is then transferred to the car’s 36-kilowatt-hour (kWh) Fortescue-built battery and Helix-provided motor while the electrons return to the cathode, joining up with protons and oxygen. This generates water vapour and heat - the waste products.

Peak output is 400kW, while torque is instant, which helps the hydrogen cars deal with steep inclines and slippery surfaces. Some energy is also recovered under braking.

Refuelling is carried out at a mobile hydrogen station. In this station, pre-cooled hydrogen is stored in gaseous form. It takes up to five minutes to refuel an empty Pioneer 25.

Extreme H 2025

An Extreme H Pioneer 25 refuelling its hydrogen tanks

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A hydrogen fuel cell is also used to provide power for event operations, and Extreme H managed to power 80% of a previous test event in Scotland using a hydrogen fuel cell.

“We used a multitude of different hydrogen types in the championship,” managing director Ali Russell tells Raceteq.

He says that some of the hydrogen sourced by Extreme H was from renewable sources, but some was also produced from non-renewable sources such as coal.

Russell says Extreme H’s priority is proving the economics of hydrogen power before settling on a type of hydrogen.

“We've got to get the price of hydrogen down and the efficiency of hydrogen up so that it becomes an alternative because if the economics aren't right, then it's a vanity project. And what we want this to be is one of the solutions that we've got to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions,” he says.

“What we're trying to do is trying to encourage all types of hydrogen… before we go down the route of preference.”
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How the event unfolded 

The inaugural Extreme H event actually began with a swansong for the outgoing Extreme E car - dubbed its ‘final lap’ - in which multi-car races took place over two days.
 
Team Hansen won the Extreme E finale thanks to drivers Andrea Bakkerud and Catie Munnings - the latter having finished on the podium in both the first and last Extreme E events.
 
The first-ever Extreme H World Cup followed, entailing three days of competition in time trial, head-to-head racing, and multi-car racing. Eight teams took part and, as in Extreme E, each team had one male driver and one female driver.
 
Timmy Hansen, team principal of Team Hansen, which finished runner-up in the Extreme H event, said: “The car design overall is similar but better in every way. Spark has learned a lot from the days in Extreme E. They have removed some of the fundamental issues we had with the chassis, so it now just handles way better.”
Extreme H 2025

The Extreme E car of Team Hansen in the Extreme E finale

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Jameel Motorsport took the honours in the Extreme H World Cup with drivers Molly Taylor - who walked away from a heavy accident in the Extreme E finale - and Kevin Hansen sharing duties.
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“Winning in Qiddiya in front of our home crowd made it incredibly meaningful. Qiddiya represents the future of motorsport and entertainment in the Kingdom, so to win there, in the first-ever hydrogen World Cup, is a special feeling that further elevates Saudi Arabia’s position on the global stage of motorsport,” says Jameel Motorsport’s managing director Munir Khoja.

“It’s a proud moment not just for our team, but for every young Saudi who dreams of competing at this level. We hope this win inspires them to chase their ambitions in motorsport.”

“For us at Jameel Motorsport, this victory is just the beginning. We’ll keep nurturing Saudi talent, supporting the advancement of sustainable motorsport, and continuing to prove that the Kingdom can lead in innovation both on and off the track.”

Extreme H 2025

Kevin Hansen at the wheel of Jameel Motorsport’s car in the Extreme H World Cup

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What does the future hold for hydrogen motorsport and Extreme H?

When it comes to hydrogen motorsport, the Extreme H World Cup will be the flag-bearer for years to come having signed a multi-year agreement with the FIA in September 2025.

Hydrogen power is shaping how the FIA governs alternative motorsport. It is drafting a regulatory framework for alternative motorsport energy sources (hydrogen included) that outline clear regulations on how to store hydrogen safely.  

“If you go back a few years ago, there was nothing other than [conventional] fuel. Now, with the advent of new technologies and alternative energy sources, the landscape has changed enormously,” says FIA technical engineering director Thomas Chevaucher.
 
The FIA is even trying to simulate what might “go wrong” with the storage and transport of hydrogen for motorsport.
 
Chevaucher explains: “To give one example, we are currently trying to do failure analysis on hydrogen storage tanks. We have constructed prototype tanks that we damage on purpose to see what happens.”
 
Extreme H will continue to be held in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia with five years left on its deal. As Qiddiya gears up to host a Formula 1 or MotoGP event in 2027 and FIFA World Cup matches in 2034, improved infrastructure might allow fans to attend Extreme H events there in the future too.
 
Other venues are being explored.
Extreme H 2025

The Tuwaiq Mountains provided the backdrop to the inaugural Extreme H event and Saudi Arabia will continue to host the Extreme H World Cup until at least 2030

“What we're going to look at is more focused around hydrogen economies. So that's Korea, Japan, China, Canada, US, Brazil, Chile, Namibia, Mauritania, South Africa… their economies that are starting to move towards hydrogen because we call it the ‘magic molecule’; it's so effective at storing renewable energy,” says Russell.

The series also plans to include internal-combustion-engine off-road racing cars competing alongside their hydrogen counterparts.

“We are open to both types of propulsion: the internal combustion engine and the [hydrogen] fuel cell. So [there is scope for] both technologies being involved. And the reason why is we truly want to be at the heart of hydrogen development - some of that will be combustion and some of that will be [within] a fuel cell.”

Russell maintains that hydrogen isn’t the only solution to growing and shifting fuel demands across the world - but Extreme H will play a vital role in exploring one of those solutions.

“We're not saying that everyone else has got it wrong and we've got it right. What we're saying is there's a portfolio of solutions and we happen to be focusing on one of those solutions, which we believe can help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.”

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