Thanks to Google Translate for this story in French (and out of France) that is now readable in English. The hydrogen fuel cell remote control car (pictured above) ran for 2,357 laps or 212.1 km at the 24 hours of St. Jo green race recently.
Using solar power and rainwater, high school students fueled the cars for this event which was 1/10 the scale of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This is the 13th year of the competition.
According to the Air Liquide website, “Mr. Frédéric CUVILLIER, French Minister of Transportation, Sea and Fishing, handed out the trophy cup specially made for this challenge, which was to keep a hydrogen-powered car using rain water, with hydrolysis done by solar panels, working under competitive conditions for 24 hours non-stop. Participating students made very interesting measurements, in particular pertaining to the increase in the duration of accumulators thanks to the fuel cell …
“’… The idea behind the race is to motivate our students in their training,’ Daniel Kern and Thierry Maison told La Voix du Nord. They are engineering teachers at Saint-Jo and the co-organizers of the 24-hour race. ‘No more throwaway parts that serve no purpose. Now we have a full-fledged project that entails creating remote-control cars and a race track. From sketching the parts beforehand to assembly and testing, everything is done by the students, who are all high-school level and studying general subjects and the sciences, not to mention industrial technologies and sustainable development. The materials uses are the same as those used in the world of Formula 1 racing — carbon, aluminum, etc.’”
If you would like to read more of the original story in French about the hydrogen RC cars then follow this link: 24 hours of St. Jo