Hydrogen Unites Manufacturers in Dakar

Toyota, Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki team up to compete in the Mission 1000, a new race organized alongside Dakar 2024.

The Mission 1000 Challenge is a new component of the Dakar Future Programme, a project aimed at encouraging automakers to develop next-generation low-carbon propulsion technologies, such as hydrogen engines, biofuels, or hybrids.

The first participant introduced is a consortium of several leading Japanese manufacturers, both on two wheels and four.

The HySE project (for Hydrogen Small mobility & Engine technology, which could be translated as Hydrogen Small Mobility and Engine Technology) brings together Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. Together, they are developing a lightweight prototype based on the T3 category (which will be called Challenger in Dakar). The 3D image released by HySE suggests a similarity with the OT3 built by Overdrive Racing in 2021.

The Belgian team led by Jean-Marc Fortin will handle the maintenance of the vehicle during Dakar 2024. The chassis has been modified to include a hydrogen tank. The HySE-X1 is powered by the hydrogen engine for motorcycles that HySE currently uses in its research activities. It features an inline 4-cylinder, 16-valve engine of 998 cc. The HySE-X1 weighs approximately 1.5 tons.

 Hydrogen engine vehicle HySE-X1

• Length × Width × Height: 3,530 mm × 2,070 mm × 1,700 mm
• Weight: approx. 1,500 kg
• Powertrain: Turbocharged inline 4-cylinder, 16 valves DACT, 4-stroke, liquid cooling
• Displacement: 998 cm³

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