'Formula Zero' kart race could drive fuel cell technology

The world's first international fuel-cell-powered go-kart race took place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Saturday. Six teams participated in the “Formula Zero” event, which is aiming to be a zero-emissions alternative to today's high-performance “Formula 1” car races.

The six teams used go-karts powered by fuel cells, which electrochemically combine hydrogen with atmospheric oxygen to produce electrical power and an exhaust of pure water, producing zero carbon-dioxide emissions.

But instead of the fuel cells charging a battery, as called for in designs for fuel-cell-powered road cars, the cells charged supercapacitors. These devices, which store energy in the electric field between two conducting plates, discharge more quickly than batteries, giving the karts more kick.

The race had two components – an endurance event and a sprint. For the endurance event, karts had to complete six laps of a 533-metre-long track in the fastest time possible. For the sprint, karts were timed as they completed one lap after a flying start, where they started accelerating before the beginning of the lap.

A team called EuplatecH2 from Zaragoza, Spain, won the sprint, finishing one lap in just over 36 seconds, sustaining an average speed of 53 kilometres per hour.