JCB is bringing hydrogen power to the Bonneville Salt Flats with Hydromax, a long, low land-speed car aimed at reaching 350 mph across Utah desert. The vehicle is driven by fighter pilot Andy Green, who previously set a diesel land speed record at Bonneville with JCB’s Dieselmax. Hydromax uses two hydrogen combustion engines from JCB, each producing 800 horsepower, for a combined 1,600 horsepower. The engines are based on an engine family JCB has been developing for hydrogen combustion in excavators, where hydrogen can support fast refueling and long operating hours without large battery packs. On the salt, the car’s 32-foot length, narrow stability-focused body, and attention to airflow, tire contact, cooling, drivetrain layout, and visibility are critical for maintaining control at extreme speed.
"JCB is taking hydrogen power to the Bonneville Salt Flats with Hydromax, a long, low land speed car built to chase 350 mph across the Utah desert. Better known for its yellow excavators and construction machines, the British company is now putting its hydrogen combustion technology into a very different kind of vehicle: a record-seeking, racer with 1,600 horsepower, two engines, and fighter pilot Andy Green behind the wheel."
"Hydromax runs on two hydrogen combustion engines developed by JCB, each producing 800 horsepower. They are based on the same engine family the company has been developing for excavators, where hydrogen combustion could offer a practical alternative to battery-electric systems in heavy machinery. For job sites, the appeal is fast refueling, long operating hours, and the ability to keep large machines working without huge battery packs."
"On the salt, that engineering story becomes much more visceral. The car stretches thirty-two feet (nearly ten meters) in length, with a narrow body shaped for stability at extreme speed. At 350 mph, every detail matters. Airflow, tire contact, cooling, drivetrain layout, and camera visibility all become part of the same problem: how to keep a hydrogen-powered machine calm while it crosses a shifting white surface faster than most aircraft take off."
"Andy Green is a familiar name at Bonneville. In 2006, he drove JCB's Dieselmax to 350.092 mph, setting the diesel land speed record in a car that translated industrial engine technology into pure speed. Hydromax picks up that thread with hydrogen, turning the company's work on low-carbon construction equipment into something sleeker, faster, and far more dramatic."
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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