Bosch Engineering has teamed up with Ligier Automotive to shake issues up in zero-emission know-how by rolling out the JS2 RH2. Should you caught the thrill at Le Mans’s centenary in 2023, this hydrogen-combustion demo based mostly on Ligier’s JS2 R already made a splash. Since then, it’s lined over 3,500 miles (about 5,600 km) of torture checks—blasting down Boxberg’s straights, carving by Magny-Cours’s tight bends and braving scorching and freezing temps at Le Mans—to show it’s constructed to final and preserve sustainable vitality in pole place.
Key insights
- Efficiency leap: Gen1 cranks out 563 bhp and 502 lb-ft—up from 325 bhp on the petrol JS2 R, a neat +238 bhp acquire; early Gen2 dyno runs have already nudged numbers to 641 bhp and 649 lb-ft.
- Minimal overhaul: Swap in hydrogen-specific injectors, ignition coils, spark plugs and a bespoke ECU—but preserve the engine block, pistons, oil and cooling methods precisely the identical.
- Hydrogen storage: Three 700 bar Hexagon Purus tanks nestled in a carbon monocoque, good for 20–25 minute stints and lightning-fast pit-lane fill-ups.
- Over 3,500 miles on the clock, together with demo laps on the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2023 and 2024, blistering runs at Boxberg and frosty checks in Sarthe.
- Future potential: Bosch reckons they’ll squeeze one other 20% extra energy out of this setup with smarter ECU mapping and combustion tuning.
- Emissions profile: largely water vapor with a whiff of NOₓ—and 0 carbon if you happen to’re working on renewable inexperienced hydrogen.
The drive behind this demo? Bosch kicked off its hydrogen-combustion program again in 2016, aiming to maintain the center of the inner combustion engine beating whereas slashing carbon. Beneath Jacques Nicolet’s watch, Ligier tweaked its JS2 R chassis to accommodate the brand new powertrain—and even let journalists tag alongside for passenger laps at Boxberg to really feel that immediate throttle snap and rock-solid reliability.
Beneath the hood
Pop the hood, and it’s a 3.0-liter twin-turbo Ford Cyclone V6 doing the heavy lifting. As an alternative of petrol injectors, Bosch fitted custom-designed hydrogen injectors that meter H₂ straight into every cylinder. New ignition coils and spark plugs gentle up the lean hydrogen–air combine, whereas a tailored ECU juggles injection timing, spark advance and turbo increase on the fly—dodging pre-ignition and conserving the ability curve silky easy.
The gas lives in three beefy Hexagon Purus tanks rated at 700 bar, all cosy in Ligier’s carbon-fiber monocoque lifted from its LMP3 racer. An online of stainless-steel traces, security valves and sensors retains tabs on stress and temp, immediately sealing off if something goes sideways. Throw in a devoted vent circuit and crash zones, and also you’ve acquired a system constructed to trendy motorsport’s strict security playbook.
Earlier than touching asphalt, Bosch’s engineers mashed the fuel within the digital world—working exhaustive digital-twin sims to good the Direct Hydrogen Injection System and ECU logic. That digital R&D slice shaved months off the on-track calibration, modeling combustion cycles, injection bursts and turbo response so the real-world checks hit the bottom working.
Emission management is a breeze: hydrogen combustion spits out largely water vapor, so the JS2 RH2 will get away with lean, light-weight catalytic converters low on valuable metals—shedding weight and value in comparison with a petroleum engine.
Why it issues
Endurance racing is all about technique, and the JS2 RH2’s lightning-fast refuel instances give groups an actual edge over battery-electric rivals nonetheless plugging in for ages. Plus, mechanics can stick with acquainted routines—solely the injectors and ECU change—shielding jobs and conserving provide chains buzzing.
The Vehicle Membership de l’Ouest (ACO), gatekeeper for the Le Mans 24 Hours, is eyeing a hydrogen entry by 2028—assuming the appropriate pit-lane hydrogen infrastructure arrives. That deadline dovetails neatly with larger pushes for industrial decarbonization and rolling out sustainable vitality options in heavy transport and high-end sports activities vehicles.
Broader implications
- Environmental profit: Close to-zero tailpipe CO₂ with inexperienced hydrogen, making motorsport and logistics an entire lot cleaner.
- Infrastructure compatibility: You possibly can retrofit present gas stations with hydrogen pumps, easing the rollout of refueling factors.
- Workforce continuity: Tech mechanics already know tips on how to tune ICEs; minimal retraining means fewer complications.
- Industrial traction: Lengthy-haul vans and heavy gear get the vary and fast refueling batteries can’t match—ideally suited for conserving items transferring.
- Know-how synergy: Breakthroughs in hydrogen storage and injection feed into each combustion engines and hydrogen gas cell tech.
- Partnership leverage: When mobility execs and hydrogen consultants pool their strengths, we turbocharge progress on industrial decarbonization.
- Hurdles: Excessive-pressure storage, evolving regs and public belief all want a coordinated push to recover from the road.
From observe to highway
Certain, the JS2 RH2 is a race automotive, however its low-impact conversion—leaving the block, pistons and lubes untouched—means your favourite service retailers and components bins keep in play. Talks are already underway with supercar makers and massive industrial OEMs about dropping this tech into highway vehicles, rigs and heavy tools the place fast fill-ups and massive energy are sport changers.
Wanting forward
To actually make hydrogen pop outdoors the paddock, we’d like extra refueling stations and electrolyzer crops powered by renewables. We additionally want international concord on security guidelines for 700-bar methods and crystal-clear regs for hydrogen-combustion engines. However after logging 500+ hours of hot-and-cold testing, hydrogen’s completed proving it’s no storage gizmo.
As legal guidelines catch up and inexperienced hydrogen scales, don’t be shocked if hydrogen-fired engines roll out of garages into supercar lineups earlier than the last decade’s up. Utilizing an LMP3 carbon-fiber monocoque and Hexagon Purus tanks, this collaboration highlights how cross-industry teamwork is steering hydrogen into the quick lane.
About Bosch Engineering
Bosch Engineering, a part of Robert Bosch GmbH since 1886, focuses on mobility throughout the board. Since kicking off its hydrogen-combustion push in 2016, it’s teamed up with Ligier Automotive to show lab concepts into track-ready—and shortly road-ready—options that drive a cleaner, extra environment friendly future.
