Is Hydrogen power a potential power for F1? – Combustion? Fuel Cells?

Summary by Krater

This video compares hydrogen combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cells for use in Formula 1 racing, examining their engineering, emissions, and efficiency. It concludes that while both technologies face storage and transport challenges, hydrogen fuel cells offer higher efficiency and are better suited for future motorsport applications than hydrogen combustion.

From the video

Answers: Can hydrogen power Formula 1 cars through combustion or fuel cells?

• Hydrogen combustion engine
• Hydrogen fuel cell
• Formula 1 powertrain
• Carbon emissions in motorsport
• Lean burn engines
• Energy efficiency comparison

What it concludes

• Hydrogen combustion engines produce harmful nitrogen oxides due to extreme combustion temperatures activating atmospheric nitrogen.
• Running a hydrogen combustion engine lean reduces NOx emissions at the cost of engine power and efficiency.
• Hydrogen fuel cells achieve around 50 percent efficiency, twice that of hydrogen combustion engines.
• Hydrogen fuel cells produce only water as a byproduct, unlike the nitrogen oxides and trace emissions of combustion engines.
• Hydrogen fuel tanks take up significantly more volume than petrol tanks for the same amount of energy.
• Lithium-ion batteries are currently ten times heavier than hydrogen fuel for the same race distance.