The Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (Fraunhofer IWU), together with Horizon Educational and the H2 GP Foundation, is organizing the world finals of the Hydrogen Grand Prix 2025. The venue is Kraftverkehr Chemnitz. The competition will take place as part of the European Capital of Culture year from August 21 to 27, 2025. More than 60 teams from 23 countries will participate. The teams consist of school pupils, apprentices and university students. They will compete in four racing classes: Sprint, Stock, Hybrid and Prototype. The goal is to complete as many laps as possible within a set time using radio-controlled model vehicles powered by hydrogen. In addition to driving performance, the evaluation also includes team spirit, design, innovation, presentation and pit stop strategy.
In the Sprint class, children aged 9 to 13 compete with particularly small vehicles on a 1:20 scale. The Stock and Hybrid classes are aimed at 14- to 19-year-olds. The 1:10 scale vehicles may also carry batteries, with the Hybrid class having to manage with a lower battery capacity. In the Prototype class, vocational school and university teams compete using fuel cell drives only.
The vehicles are powered by so-called Hydrostiks, each containing 1 gram of hydrogen. The teams receive a limited number of these sticks and must optimize their vehicles in terms of weight, aerodynamics and energy efficiency. The race duration in the main classes is up to six hours.
Fraunhofer IWU
The following teams from Germany have qualified, among others: the Foxracers and Hydrofoxes I from the EGE-Gymnasium Annaberg-Buchholz, the team Eso H2 Beast from the Eliteschule des Wintersports Oberwiesenthal, the team Zer from the Carl-von-Bach-Gymnasium Stollberg, and the team Hydrogenschrauber from the vocational school center in Pirna. The team Hy RaceA from TU Graz, which took part in the Germany finals, is also competing in the Prototype class.
A special race is scheduled for August 27: In the Stock Special “Girls in STEM”, only female pupils and students from science and technology disciplines will compete against each other.
The starting signal for the race on August 25 will be given by Conrad Clemens, Saxony’s State Minister for Education. He will be accompanied by Prof. Dr. Welf-Guntram Drossel, Executive Director of Fraunhofer IWU, Dr. Ulrike Beyer, Head of the Reference Factory.H2, and Ralph Burghart, Mayor of Chemnitz. Also present on August 25 will be Dr. Stefan Fenchel, Project Manager for Sustainability at the BMW Group plant in Leipzig. He will bring a team and a BMW iX5 Hydrogen vehicle. The organizing team emphasizes that the competition promotes not only technical knowledge but also teamwork and strategic thinking. The event is part of the activities of the Reference Factory.H2, which aims to inspire young people to pursue careers in hydrogen technology.
