The hydrogen time is long, with sometimes nice accelerations. The story ofH24 Project, a gem from the Signes plateau, is the perfect example. Integrator of hydrogen racing cars, the small business with a dozen employees has just presented a prototype in Paris, along with its new name. Because before arriving at this fourth car, the company now entirely owned by Jean-Michel Bouresche had, in its previous life, already quite blazed the trail for gaseous hydrogen fuel cell engines. That of Green GT technologies, founded in Signes in 2012 by the entrepreneur and expert in the world of motor racing.
“I am a physical education teacher by training and in 1995 I created a car racing and endurance structure, JMB Racing”remembers Ceyresten who sold his business in 2010. Enough to embark on a new adventure, that of Green GT SA, a research firm founded by the Swiss in 2008, to launch into the race for the electric car . “When they sold their first model, they asked me for my opinion on what to do next with Green GT. I asked a friend who worked at PSA and they immediately entrusted Green GT with the construction of the Survolt. “ And Jean-Michel Bouresche found himself involved in the adventure. Which very quickly took the turn towards hydrogen.
Premier prototype and 2015
In 2012, the entrepreneur created a subsidiary of the Swiss design firm in Signes, Green GT Technologies, and a first prototype was presented in 2015 on the Castellet circuit in the presence of driver Olivier Panis.
First burst of acceleration. Before the real sprint, in 2018, when Green GT signed a partnership with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to give birth to Mission H24, a project intended to boost the arrival of hydrogen on the slopes.
And it works. Partners quickly flocked around a first prototype, LMPH2 (Le Mans Prototype Hydrogen), Total Energies, Michelin, Synbio then the tank manufacturer Plastic Omnium. “From a manufacturer, we have become an integrator, relying on the products and techniques of our partners who are also sponsors”summarizes the manager.
A few months later, the H24 will concretize the commitment of the partners… Until an unexpected event which gives Green GT a new boost.
“Last July, the ultra-majority Swiss shareholder wanted to withdraw. I took over 100% of the shares in the subsidiary Green GT Technologies which thus becomes independent and takes the name H24 Project”, explains Jean-Michel Bouresche, now owner of the gem that he has been growing for ten years.
Nineteen months
“After nineteen months of construction, we presented our new prototype last week in Paris, with an extremely futuristic design. We are continuing Mission H24 with the ACO”underlines the entrepreneur whose latest addition does not yet have a name.
The H24, for its part, has already participated in competitions, the only one to run on hydrogen among the thermal competitors. “It is out of classification but it has finished all the races. It is a car in the process of being approved which is used to draw up the technical regulations, because everything has to be built.”
The company which recruited the technical director of Green GT SA in Switzerland is now aiming to market its services for manufacturer clients.
For this, a factory would have to be built, still in Signes, on 4,000m² already acquired. Until now financed by its sponsors, the Varois hydrogen pioneer is on the verge of crossing the finish line and generating its own resources. And to open the way to multiple applications of this fuel of the future.
