On the eve of the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota rolled out an idea automotive fueled by hydrogen that will simply preview a race automotive that may take to the Circuit de la Sarthe in 2026.

The Toyota GR H2 Racing idea is a Le Mans prototype race automotive that encompasses a hybrid powertrain, the place the internal-combustion engine runs on hydrogen.

As automakers look to get rid of tailpipe emissions, one answer being investigated is using hydrogen engines. Toyota is without doubt one of the greatest proponents of the know-how and has competed with a Corolla-based race automotive fitted with a hydrogen engine in Japan’s Tremendous Taikyu Sequence since 2021.

When burning hydrogen, there are zero CO2 emissions. Nonetheless, there are dangerous nitrogen oxides that must be handled with utilizing urea-based selective catalytic discount like in fashionable diesel engines. One other downside of hydrogen is the present lack of fueling stations.

Toyota did not say what engine options within the GR H2 Racing idea, although the automaker is understood to be creating a V-8 hydrogen engine with Yamaha, the identical firm that developed the 4.8-liter V-10 used within the Lexus LFA supercar. It is doable the engine will find yourself in a race automotive much like the GR H2 Racing.

Toyota stated the idea is not purely a styling train. It was developed with future competitors in thoughts. The World Endurance Championship, whose important occasion is the Le Mans race, plans to introduce a category for hydrogen-powered automobiles (together with gas cell automobiles) in 2026. The organizers have additionally pledged to make use of Stability of Efficiency guidelines to make sure the hydrogen-powered automobiles are aggressive.

Alpine, which additionally competes within the World Endurance Championship, final yr rolled out its personal idea automotive with a hydrogen engine, and Porsche, probably the most profitable automaker at Le Mans, has confirmed it’s creating a hydrogen engine.