The only driver to ever exceed the speed of sound on land has claimed a new world record in a significant demonstration of hydrogen energy capabilities.
British driver Andy Green achieved 406.320 mph (653.908 kph) behind the wheel of a machine propelled by twin hydrogen internal combustion engines producing a total of 1,600 horsepower. The run established a benchmark for the vehicle class, as confirmed by motorsport's global governing authority, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.
Operating across the salt crust at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, the 64-year-old former Royal Air Force pilot piloted a 32-foot (9.75-metre) vehicle developed by British industrial machinery maker JCB. Modified from units deployed in heavy plant equipment, the engines blend compressed hydrogen gas with air before ignition to generate propulsive thrust.
"It’s magic to be able to showcase this technology and to showcase how good the engineering is on the best racing surface in the world, Bonneville Salt Flats," Green said after setting the new record.
The achievement on Tuesday remained well short of the absolute land-speed record, which Green established using jet propulsion in 1997.
Driving Thrust SSC—a slender vehicle positioned between two massive jet engines—he reached 763.035 mph (1,227.985 kph), becoming the first person to go supersonic on land in an unmatched accomplishment. Those runs across Nevada’s Black Rock Desert created sonic shockwaves that rattled the town of Gerlach.
Green previously set a diesel land-speed benchmark of 350.092 mph (563.4 kph) at Bonneville in 2006. He made his return to Utah intent on surpassing that mark through hydrogen, a technology he has previously described as the "fuel of the future."
While pursuing his diesel mark, Green comfortably surpassed the prior hydrogen combustion record of 185.5 mph (298.5 kph). He utilised a 10-mile (16-kilometre) course to accelerate, observed from afar by a small gathering of JCB personnel and journalists using binoculars and cameras.
According to Green, conditions inside the cockpit on Tuesday were "probably a little hotter" than in his 1997 jet vehicle, with internal temperatures regularly exceeding 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius).
"But I have been training four months for that, both training in the gym and actually just getting used to it with hot baths," he added.
Formed from an ancient lake bed, the Bonneville Salt Flats lie roughly 100 miles (160 kilometres) west of Salt Lake City, positioned above a high water table that helps cool tyres. The slick surface and arid climate create optimal conditions for high speeds, attracting racers since competitive driving began there in 1914.
"It looks like snow, and it behaves a bit like packed snow — it is surprisingly slippery," Green remarked.
Prior to entering record-breaking driving, Green was already accustomed to high speeds. He was serving as a supersonic fighter pilot when he answered a 1994 advertisement in a British newspaper searching for someone to break the sound barrier on land.
Although Tuesday's attempt was not supersonic, engineers at JCB anticipate that demonstrating hydrogen capability at this level will influence the clean energy sector.
The equipment maker's chairman has maintained that hydrogen technology is better suited to meeting the heavy industry's power demands than battery electrification.
Environmental benefits depend heavily on how hydrogen is generated, with most current supplies derived from fossil fuels. JCB has agreed a contract to procure green hydrogen produced via renewable sources, though this variant accounts for only a minor portion of worldwide production.
