First launched at the 2021 Dakar Rally, GCK Motorsport’s programme to develop a competitive hydrogen car in cross-country racing has seen significant progress. The presentation of the first ever integrated hydrogen fuel cell at the 2022 Dakar Rally represents a momentous milestone for the team, and the future of motorsport as it transitions to greener alternatives.

Day 8 of the 2022 Dakar Rally was the official rest day of the famous cross-country event. Not so for GCK Motorsport, the technological, sport and media flagship of French Group Green Corp Konnection (GCK). The team presented the prototype of its 2024 hydrogen-powered rally raid vehicle in Riyadh, revealing its first fully integrated fuel cell system which has been specially developed internally throughout 2021 in collaboration with German engineering company FEV.

The newly integrated fuel cell is powered by 700-bar hydrogen, of which the final volume of 30kg will be stored in 4 R134 certified tanks to deliver 200kW of energy. The fuel cell is directly connected to the latest generation of the in-house produced lithium-Ion battery generating 50kW. The new GCK 2-gear electric motor has also been further enhanced to reach 320kW, the equivalent of 430 horsepower. Finally, a first adaptation of the chassis has been made to meet the requirements needed for the integration of this new powertrain. These developments will allow the GCK e-Blast H2 to race a 250km long special stage entirely powered by green energy.