Since its inception in 1978 as the Paris-Dakar Rally, what’s now called the Dakar Rally has been dominated by highly modified entries with internal combustion engines. However, with its organizer, ASO (Amaury Sport Organization), pushing for a fully green roster by 2030, the legendary rally is now providing fertile ground for companies seeking to prove the performance of their electrified-mobility solutions.
In November 2020, GCK Motorsport announced its intent to go completely green with its cross-country effort, the e-Blast 1 off-road race car. The tubular-chassis, carbon-bodied racer features a double-wishbone suspension with 460 mm (18.1 in) of travel. It is 4512 mm (177.6 in) long, 2400 mm (94.5 in) wide, and 1800 mm (70.9 in) tall, with a 3200-mm (126.0-in) wheelbase and weighing in at 2300 kg (5070 lb). It features a rear motor producing a 250 kW (340 hp) and 1000 N·m (738 lb·ft), with a two-speed gearbox enabling a 180-km/h (112-mph) top speed. Its supplemental battery has a total capacity of 150 kW·h.
The racing outfit intends to become the first team to present a hydrogen-powered cross-country vehicle at Dakar 2022 before competing in the Dakar Rally in 2023, supporting ASO’s effort to promote an environmentally sustainable event.
GCK is an ecosystem of French industrial companies pushing the energy revolution in mobility and green energy supply. The group is heavily involved in motorsport through GCK Motorsport, one of the Fédération International de l’Automobile (FIA) World Rallycross Championship’s flagship teams since 2018. Its GCK Energy unit won the FIA competition to become the exclusive supplier of electricity and recharging infrastructure for the electric World Rallycross Championship and its junior categories from 2021.
FEV will support the GCK’s FCEV (fuel-cell electric vehicle) effort with its extensive design, development, and integration expertise. The partnership seeks to produce an onboard fuel-cell system with an output of 200 kW—one of the most powerful on the market, according to the partners. Housed in a Dakar Rally race car, the system will be subjected to some of the most grueling conditions imaginable, testing the limits of FCEV capabilities.
“This historic step in the life of our company perfectly illustrates our mission to develop technological solutions to meet the growing demand for the integration of green energy in the field of mobility,” said Eric Boudot, CEO of GCK.
“Thanks to more than 20 years of experience in the field of hydrogen-related technologies, FEV is uniquely equipped to accept this challenge,” said Nadim Andraos, Executive Vice President for FEV in France, Spain, and North Africa.
GCK says that its fuel-cell system will offer a unique level of power and energy density, even enabling its integration into the lightest vehicles. With cooling, compression, and voltage-conversion solutions adapted to this power level, the fuel-cell system is said to meet the growing needs for hydrogen systems in all sectors across the mobility market, from trucks to buses and industrial equipment. Fuel-cell system development is a key component to GCK Motorsport’s breakthrough project launched during the Dakar Rally last January and to be led by French rally and rallycross driver and GCK President Guerlain Chicherit.
The fuel-cell stacks will be provided by EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies, a joint venture between ElringKlinger AG and Plastic Omnium SE launched early this month. The new company was formed to offer best-in-class and cost-competitive fuel-cell stacks and components for a broad range of applications. Initially, the company will focus on commercial vehicles and buses and then on passenger cars. Special vehicles, trains, and ships are also potential growth areas.
Commenting on EKPO’s launch, the two CEOs of the parent groups, Dr. Stefan Wolf of ElringKlinger and Laurent Favre of Plastic Omnium, see tremendous market potential and are determined to achieve a revenue target of €700 million to €1 billion in 2030. The company site in Dettingen/Erms, Germany, is already able to produce up to 10,000 fuel-cell stacks per year to industrial standards as well as key components of a stack such as bipolar plates or media modules.
The journey to greener solutions in mobility has come a long way in recent years, believes GCK, with short, sharp racing already successfully showcasing electric motors and the general public adapting to usage of electric cars. However, GCK believes the issue is still the long-distance capabilities and feels that the future of long-distance racing (and industrial adoption) will be an electric-hydrogen hybrid.
The company is looking to develop a cross-country production vehicle evolved from the e-Blast 1, a hybrid-powered both by battery and hydrogen, planned for the market in 2-3 years. It says the e-Blast 1 currently delivers 250 kW, but developmental work by GCK engineers, initially focused on optimizing the electric motor, will allow it to reach 300 kW.
Concurrently, the capacity of the battery pack will be reduced from 150 kW·h to 60 kW·h, with a new cooling system being integrated to allow for quicker charging of the car. In parallel, we’re working on a fuel-cell specifically developed for this project, which will be powered by 25 kg (55 lb) of 700-bar (10.1-ksi) hydrogen stored in tailor-made tanks and deliver 120 kW of energy.
