Following last week’s historic third consecutive Ferrari outright win at the 24 hours of Le Mans, I wanted to reflect on another exciting event from this year’s race week: Toyota’s unveiling of their hydrogen combustion engine Hypercar Prototype, the GR LH2 Racing Concept. When unveiling the car on Wednesday 11 June, Toyota said they plan to use the prototype for track testing in order to support the development of hydrogen technology and infrastructure. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Toyota have filed a large number of patent applications directed to hydrogen combustion engine technology in recent years.

This most recent statement of intention from Toyota, combined with the FIA’s recent approval of new rules for liquid hydrogen storage, suggests that there may be a future for hydrogen power, and in particular, hydrogen combustion, in motorsport.

Hydrogen combustion engines work in much the same way as conventional internal combustion engines, with pistons being driven by fuel combusting inside the cylinders. Rather than petrol or diesel however, the fuel being ignited is hydrogen. Hydrogen combustion engine vehicles differ from hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles which, like plug-in electric vehicles, are driven by an electric motor, with electricity being provided to the motor by a hydrogen fuel cell.

So, all this got me thinking: who else is looking at hydrogen combustion, and what are they doing to protect their innovation?

Staying with the performance car theme, in January this year, Ferrari had a European Patent granted for a car with the rear wheels driven by a hydrogen powered internal combustion engine. One reason why hydrogen combustion may have a future for performance cars and motorsport is quite simply that most car enthusiasts like it when cars make noise. As a petrol-head myself, I believe there is a drama associated with turning a combustible material into power and noise that electric cars just cannot match. Hydrogen combustion may offer a way to maintain that drama, with zero emissions from the exhaust pipe.

Another manufacturer who are actively seeking patent protection for hydrogen combustion tech is Volvo Trucks. They have filed a number of patents over the past few years which relate to more specific developments within hydrogen combustion engines. One patent, granted last year, aims to protect a control method relating to injecting water into the cylinders to cool the fuel and components in an effort to reduce the likelihood of accidental combustion due to the low ignition energy of hydrogen. Volvo are planning road tests with hydrogen combustion engine trucks in 2026, and have cited long range applications as a key use case for hydrogen combustion, specifically in regions with little or no electric charging infrastructure.

Finally, Dehns client, JCB, is making significant progress with hydrogen combustion. JCB is already testing many machines with hydrogen combustion engines on customers’ sites, and has filed a large number of patent applications to protect its technology. As motivation for the use of hydrogen combustion technology, JCB cites the non-reliance on precious metals, something which can’t be said for battery electric vehicles. Furthermore, JCB highlights the advantages of the similarity of hydrogen combustion engine technology to its fossil fuel combustion predecessors. This similarity gives users confidence due to the familiarity of the tech. It also has the potential to reduce production costs by using the same supply chains and factories as have previously been used to produce diesel machinery.

One thing does therefore seem clear: whilst hydrogen combustion engines may not be the entire future of mobility, they certainly do appear to have a place in it.