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Hydrogen record at Bonneville
Former fighter pilot Andy Green set a world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered car at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Tuesday, driving the JCB Hydromax.
“harnessed the power of two production-based digger engines”
Reuters said the Hydromax “harnessed the power of two production-based digger engines” to reach a combined speed over two runs of 406.320mph/653.909kph, with the first run at 400.623mph and the second at 412.135mph.
The attempt was overseen by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and remained subject to ratification by the governing body’s Land Speed Records Commission.
BBC reported that Green, a 64-year-old retired Royal Air Force pilot, reached a speed of 406mph (654km/h) at Bonneville, measured as an average of two runs in a car powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines.
The BBC also tied the record to Green’s earlier career, noting that in 1997 he drove the jet-powered ThrustSSC across Nevada's Black Rock Desert at 763mph (1,228km/h).
Green, Bamford and the FIA
Green framed the achievement as both timing and technology, telling Reuters, “Bonneville is the spiritual home of the World Land Speed Record, and Hydromax has just written itself into that history.”
Reuters also reported that the record run was subject to ratification by the FIA’s Land Speed Records Commission, even as it described the Hydromax as a hydrogen internal combustion vehicle rather than a fuel cell.
JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford, quoted by BBC, said, “Twenty years ago we came to Bonneville with JCB Dieselmax and showed what British engineering could do with diesel power.”
BBC added that the Hydromax development was driven by Green’s acceptance of the challenge after a call from JCB chairman Lord Anthony Bamford.
The BBC further noted that in May the Hydromax reached 208mph (335km/h) during testing at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, before the official attempt.
What the record is for
JCB said the Hydromax project is part of a broader hydrogen engine push, with Reuters reporting that the company invested 100 million pounds ($135.03 million) to develop hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines.
“invested 100 million pounds ($135.03 million) to develop hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines”
Reuters said the Hydromax project also served to promote the green-engined diggers rolling off production lines, using two production-based hydrogen engines derived from JCB’s construction equipment.
The record attempt came ahead of JCB opening a new $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas, to make machines for the U.S. market, as Reuters reported.
Top Gear described the Hydromax as “the fastest JCB ever,” and said the record attempt was overseen by the FIA and still subject to final ratification.
In the same Top Gear account, JCB engineering director Ryan Ballard said, “This record belongs to the engineering team,” while describing the project as “an amazing challenge from the outset in February last year.”
