A hydrogen-powered race car fueled by sewage and built by students at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick is attempting to break a land speed record.
The Waste2Race Le Mans Prototype (LMP3) race car will use hydrogen that is a byproduct of Wastewater Fuels treatment technology being trialled at Severn Trent Water. The car has been built using a selection of spare and unused parts.
The creators aim to break one of several land speed records – depending on how the car performs – including fastest standing and flying starts for a mile and a kilometer. Ginetta, a renowned British specialist builder of racing and sports cars, has supplied the parts for the race car. Some parts have been adapted with sustainable materials, including recycled carbon fiber and a wing mirror from beetroot waste.
The steering wheel, developed by the National Composites Centre (NCC), is made entirely from naturally occurring materials, and ENRG Motorsport supplied a battery recovered from a crashed road car.
The Waste2Race project’s speed record attempt comes as manufacturers such as Alpine and Toyota are exploring hydrogen as a fuel for racing cars. BMW has also recently announced plans for its first hydrogen car to go on sale in 2028.
With the chassis fully developed, Waste2Race engineers have been working over the summer to develop the sustainable powertrain. Students from the University of Warwick had hands-on experience, working on the build throughout the summer break to gain skills needed for future careers in motorsports and manufacturing.
Professor Kerry Kirwan, head of the sustainable materials and manufacturing research Group at WMG and the University of Warwick’s deputy pro-vice chancellor (research), said, “We’re incredibly proud of the ingenuity of our students and wish them all the best of luck in their land speed record attempt.”
WMG staff and students aim to complete the car in 2025 and use it to showcase a wide range of sustainable concepts that are being worked on across the university and industry.