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Michelin and Symbio, New Major MISSIONH24 Partners Alongside TOTAL to Promote Hydrogen in Motor Racing

By June 23, 2020 6   min read  (1153 words)

June 23, 2020 |

Michelin and Symbion Join MissionH24

In addition to Total, the MissionH24 programme now has two very important additional backers: Michelin and Symbio. Competition is a laboratory for research and an accelerator of hydrogen solutions for Michelin and Symbio.

In 2020, MissionH24 is pursuing its deployment backed henceforth by three internationally-recognised companies as Total has been joined in this programme by Michelin and Symbio. MissionH24, its team H24Racing and its racing cars will fly the colours of these three players from their next outing onwards.

Through Symbio, a joint-venture created with car industry parts supplier Faurecia, Michelin is now a leading partner in the MissionH24 project. By reinforcing its involvement, the French tyre manufacturer is joining Total, the programme’s reference partner since last season.

MissionH24’s aim is to accelerate zero-emission mobility through motor racing. A project which was launched by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the organiser of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and GreenGT, a trail-blazing company in high-powered electric-hydrogen mobility. MissionH24 was founded in 2018 when the LMPH2G electric-hydrogen prototype designed by GreenGT, already with technical backing from Michelin and Symbio, ran in public for the first time.

The programme is preparing the ground for the arrival of electric-hydrogen prototypes at the start of the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans in their own dedicated category. MissionH24 is aiming for zero-emission racing and decarbonised mobility.

Total, Michelin and Symbio’s all-out involvement in MissionH24 marks the new dimension of this ecotechnical programme which, this season as in 2019, will see the LMPH2G and the new prototype destined to replace it carrying out a succession of development and performance tests as well taking part in race weekends.

TOTAL A LONG-TERM REFERENCE PARTNER

Total has become involved with MissionH24 and more generally with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest to participate in the development of hydrogen in Endurance. The multi-energy group is the reference partner in the project and supplier until 2024 and the introduction of a hydrogen category in the 24 Hours of Le Mans at that date. Total sees Endurance as a laboratory for research in the field of ecological transition and mobility.

In 2019, Total designed and produced the first mobile hydrogen refuelling station for the requirements of the programme. Thanks to this station the MissionH24’s prototype, the LMPH2G, can be refuelled in hydrogen on the pit lane like all the other racing cars. This device is a world first which had a successful baptism in the Michelin Le Mans Cup rounds at Spa-Francorchamps and Portimão in which the car took part at the end of the 2019 season.

COMPETITION IS A LABORATORY FOR RESEARCH AND AN ACCELERATOR OF HYDROGEN SOLUTIONS FOR MICHELIN AND SYMBIO

By becoming a MissionH24 reference partner, Michelin is now directly involved in the technical solutions linked to the motorisation of racing prototypes while remaining the exclusive tyre supplier to the H24Racing team.

Symbio, which became a joint venture between Michelin and Faurecia in November 2019, will bring its expertise in hydrogen systems for mobility to the MissionH24 programme. The company, a GreenGT partner for ten years, is fully aware of the technological stakes linked to motor racing.

The experience acquired in racing thanks to MissionH24 will be used in Symbio’s strategy as the firm is aiming to become a major player in hydrogen mobility in the years to come.

Pierre FILLON, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest & MissionH24
“MissionH24 is an ambitious trail-blazing programme working for energy transition and decarbonised mobility. The arrival of the Michelin Group through Symbio after Total is going to accelerate the on-going research to introduce hydrogen into racing with the creation of a category dedicated to hydrogen-powered prototypes in the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. Total and Michelin, each in its own field of action, have enabled the deployment of MissionH24.”

Christophe RICARD, Président of GreenGT & MissionH24
“Like us Total and Michelin are technological pioneers. It’s essential for the MissionH24 programme that GreenGT and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest have set in motion together to see companies that are international benchmarks share our vision for energy transition. Total and Michelin have the same ambitions as MissionH24 – innovate on a daily basis to build mobility and tomorrow’s motor sport.”

Fabio Ferrari, CEO Symbio
“Motor racing is both an incredible laboratory to push the technological limits of hydrogen systems and a very effective standard bearer to raise general public awareness of this zero-emission mobility. The Symbio teams are thus doubly proud to be taking part in this ambitious programme.”

Sonia Artinian-Fredou, Business Services and Solutions Manager, High Technology Materials – Member of the group’s Executive Committee :

“With Symbio the Michelin group is very proud to be joining the MissionH24 Programme alongside the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and Total. This will give Michelin and Symbio a real-life laboratory to accelerate research and development of solutions for clean mobility based on the use of hydrogen. As a key-player in zero-emission mobility Michelin is investing in several actions aimed at speeding up innovation to offer sustainable solutions that meet the expectations and needs of its clients and of our planet.”

Michelin’s aim is to improve the mobility of goods and people on a sustainable basis. To achieve this, the Group has been involved in numerous zero-emission projects for the last 15 years. In this context Michelin is also a 50% share holder with Faurecia in Symbio a company which designs mobility solutions based on the use of hydrogen. As a tyre manufacturer, Michelin develops, produces and supplies tyres best suited to the needs of its clients and their uses as well as services and solutions to improve transport efficiency. Michelin also provides offers that enable its clients to live unique moments during their travels. Michelin’s activities include the development of high-technology materials for numerous domains. Based in Clermont-Ferrand in France Michelin is present in 170 countries, employs more than 127 000 people and operates 69 tyre factories whose total production numbered around 200 million tyres in 2019. (www.michelin.com).

Symbio is owned in equal parts by Faurecia and Michelin and designs, produces and sells hydrogen systems for light and commercial vehicles, buses, lorries and electric vehicles of different sizes. Because of its unique experience and the priority given to the introduction of production car standards, the company’s ambition is to become a world leader in hydrogen mobility. Symbio has been working on hydrogen technology and its integration into vehicles for more than ten years. Those equipped by the company have already covered over three million kilometres in 2020. It is aiming to produce 200 000 StackPack ®s – its pre-validated and pre-integrated hydrogen systems – per year in 2030 for manufacturers all over the world. Thus, the company is involved in the acceleration of the deployment of hydrogen mobility, which by its very nature produces zero emissions, and is relatively convenient in terms of recharging and autonomy for end users.

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