McLaren Automotive has announced a £500m (US$673m) investment program to expand its UK manufacturing, engineering and operations, enabling it to accelerate the development of its next generation of models.

Nick Collins, chief executive officer of McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive, said, “This investment gives us the platform to grow, develop and build on what makes us distinctive, while investing in the people, technologies and products that will keep us competitive for decades to come.”

Expanding McLaren Automotive in the UK

The investment will enable McLaren Automotive to expand its production capacity and increase vehicle output in the UK, including the production of the next generation of McLaren models and a newly confirmed performance SUV. The expansion will be supported by a new vehicle assembly facility planned for the UK.

For the first time, McLaren Automotive’s future powertrains will be designed and built in-house, starting with two new engines and transmissions. The move will support the company’s hybrid powertrain strategy, building on its use of hybrid technology, which began with the McLaren P1.

McLaren Automotive will also expand operations at the McLaren production center in Woking and its carbon-fiber manufacturing and research facility in South Yorkshire at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre.

The company has recently opened two new UK sites – a design and innovation center at the McLaren Creation Centre in Bicester, and a testing and vehicle development facility in the Midlands. Together with its Woking headquarters and South Yorkshire carbon-fiber facility, they form an integrated UK operation, from design through to advanced manufacturing.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, “McLaren Automotive is doubling down on Britain, keeping the design, the engineering and the building of every future car here, and taking on a thousand more people to do it.

“Their investment will create high-quality apprenticeships, jobs and drive growth far beyond their factory gates. It is how you get skilled work, decent wages and pride back into a place.

“It’s this kind of partnership between government and business that will help us reindustrialize communities and make every part of Britain better off. I want young people to see that and know there is a future for them in making things, wherever they grew up.”

New products, skills and jobs

McLaren Automotive is “building a complete portfolio around the supercar”, the auto maker said, and plans to enter new categories including the performance SUV segment. The investment will provide the manufacturing capacity, technology and skills required to bring its future models to market.

The program will create at least 1,000 new direct and indirect jobs across McLaren’s UK operations by 2032, while safeguarding existing roles. McLaren Automotive’s UK manufacturing workforce is expected to double, supported by new apprenticeships aimed at developing future talent.

The investment will strengthen McLaren Automotive’s expertise in lightweighting, carbon fiber and advanced manufacturing, while securing critical intellectual property and production capabilities in the UK.

Jassem Al Zaabi, managing director and group chief executive officer of L’IMAD, commented, “Over the past 20 months, L’IMAD has worked closely with McLaren Automotive’s management team, supporting the business in sharpening its strategic direction and positioning itself for long-term growth.

“This investment reflects our confidence in its potential and our commitment to backing the business through its next chapter, building on the heritage, engineering excellence and distinctive brand that has defined McLaren for more than six decades.”

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Heavy-duty and industrial cooling systems manufacturer Dolphin Global has adopted physics and engineering AI tools from cloud simulation platform SimScale to accelerate development of heat exchanger and radiator designs. The technology will be used to optimize heat transfer, reduce cooling power requirements, improve resistance to clogging in dirty environments and develop smaller, lighter cooling systems for high-power equipment.

The thermal demands placed on heavy-duty, locomotive and off-highway equipment are becoming harder to solve through conventional, sequential radiator design. AI-powered simulation gives Dolphin the ability to explore far more combinations of core, fin, tube and airflow design – helping engineers find better-performing designs in significantly less time, while balancing thermal performance, pressure drop, weight, durability, packaging and manufacturability.

Dolphin will expand its use of SimScale’s AI and advanced digital simulation tools across its heavy-duty, locomotive truck and bus, and off-highway and industrial ranges in the coming months, using the technology to run computational fluid dynamics and thermal simulations, including shell-and-tube and plate heat exchanger configurations, to optimize thermal efficiency.

Its adoption of the technology deepens Dolphin’s investment in digital-first engineering, enabling its technical team to test and refine thermal and fluid performance earlier and faster in the design cycle, ahead of physical prototyping.

“Our engineering team has always owned every stage of design and validation in-house,” said Nooruddin Jetpurwala, founder, chairman and CEO, Dolphin Global. “Bringing SimScale’s physics and engineering AI and advanced simulation capability into that process enhances our operational efficiency and time optimization. We can now test more configurations, identify issues earlier, and bring validated designs to market faster, without compromising the standards our customers depend on.”

“As equipment and vehicle thermal demands become more complex, supplier engineering teams are increasingly turning to AI and advanced simulation tools,” added David Heiny, co-founder and CEO, SimScale. “By adopting these tools, Dolphin is enabling its engineers to explore up to hundreds more design variants and move beyond conventional approaches and simple, incremental improvements to deliver the type of innovation its customers need.”

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UCL has appointed professor Thomas S Miller as the inaugural Horiba chair of advanced propulsion technologies in its Faculty of Engineering, effective September 2026.

This new chair expands the partnership between UCL and Horiba, which is dedicated to the decarbonization of the transportation sector, particularly through work on battery and fuel cell electric vehicles. Through this collaboration, Horiba has committed to providing support for a senior academic post and two doctoral research students within UCL’s Advanced Propulsion Lab (APL), helping to develop the next generation of clean propulsion technologies and the engineers who will deliver them.

Professor Miller commented, “The transition to net zero transportation depends on us developing a much deeper understanding of how electrochemical systems behave under real operating conditions. This role provides a unique opportunity to connect fundamental science with industry-relevant challenges, developing technologies and approaches that can be translated to deliver real-world impact. I am excited to build on the strong partnership between UCL and Horiba to advance this work.”

Located at UCL East on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the APL converges world-class expertise from chemical and mechanical engineering to enable the high-precision measurement and validation of electrochemical propulsion systems under real-world conditions. This interdisciplinary approach provides a platform for addressing challenges across the full system, delivering solutions that connect breakthroughs in basic research with practical technologies that can be deployed in the real world.

Professor Miller currently serves as director of the APL and is an internationally recognized materials scientist and electrochemist whose research focuses on electrochemical energy systems, including batteries, fuel cells and electrolysers. He is co-lead of the UCL Electrochemical Innovation Lab (EIL) and deputy director of UCL’s Global Industrial Technology Cooperation Centre. As Horiba chair, he will lead research and training to strengthen UCL’s ability to deliver technologies that enable cleaner, more efficient mobility.

Richard Carter, managing executive at Horiba UK, added, “Solving the complex challenges of transportation decarbonization requires closer collaboration between industry and academia than ever before. By combining pioneering research with real-world application, we can accelerate the innovations needed to create a cleaner, safer and more sustainable future.

Angharad Milenkovic, vice president (advancement) at UCL, concluded, “Philanthropy and partnership are critical to enabling the step change in research and innovation needed to address global challenges. Horiba’s support for this chair is a powerful example of how collaboration between industry and academia can accelerate progress, bringing exceptional talent like professor Miller to the forefront of work that will shape a more sustainable future.”

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Lawrence Butcher looks at the development of the Mercedes-AMG One road-legal hybrid hypercar

Until recently, no one had ever successfully built a road car around an F1 engine. There have been close tries, and engines from race cars have ended up fitted to road cars in modified form. Porsche’s Carrera GT took the base engine from the company’s RS Spyder LMP. Going the other way, BMW’s 1980s M12 F1 engine used a road-car block. But taking an unadulterated F1 engine and putting it in a road car had never been done, until Mercedes decided to do the unthinkable. The result? The AMG One.

The genesis of AMG One began in Mercedes’s dominant 2014 and 2015 Formula 1 seasons. The 1.6-liter V6 turbocharged hybrid power unit (PU) that powered Lewis Hamilton to consecutive Drivers’ World Championships was, by any measure, a generational piece of engineering. To celebrate and capitalize on this success, Mercedes and AMG began exploring the concept of a road-legal hypercar using the W06’s powertrain. The main questions: Was it even feasible and, if it were, how much of the F1 PU could survive the transition to the road intact?

Toward the end of 2015, a small group at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth, UK – specifically what is now called the Advanced Technology group – began concept work, sketching out what changes would theoretically be required before the program formally launched in 2017.

Mercedes-AMG’s plan was to produce 275 cars, the highlight of which would be an essentially unmodified F1 PU: the 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 ICE, the MGU-H harvesting energy from the turbocharger, and the MGU-K recovering energy under braking from the rear axle, plus an additional pair of electric motors driving the front axle. The combined system would output over 1,000hp. Getting that package through European road-car homologation was far from easy and pushed even the team at HPP – a group well used to achieving the impossible – to the limit.

Powertrain preservation

Adam Allsopp, currently director of Advanced Technology at Mercedes AMG HPP, was deeply involved in the powertrain development. When the project began, he was engineering director on the Formula 1 program, but in 2018 he became increasingly engaged with the road car before becoming sole program lead in 2019. According to Allsopp, there was an almost single-minded pursuit of keeping the powertrain “pure” and only departing from the racing design where absolutely necessary.

“Wherever we were faced with difficult challenges, if the solution was going to move us away from what the regulation specified for that engine, that troubled me because it felt like we would be watering it down,” he recalls.

Changes to the fundamental ICE architecture were to be avoided wherever possible – a tall order, given that the F1 ICE was entirely optimized to produce maximum power and efficiency within the fuel-flow-limited constraints of the F1 regulations. From the oversquare bore to stroke ratio, injector position, spark plug location, intake port geometry and cam profile, everything was developed for top-end performance and efficiency. But AMG One would be a road car; it needed low-speed manners and, importantly, noise and emissions compliance.

The Advanced Technology team at HPP took the approach of augmentation rather than alteration. Where the F1 architecture created a problem, the team sought solutions that worked around the core design. “It was about protecting those attributes and then trying to work out how you enhance rather than remove,” says Allsopp.

The eventual addition of port fuel injection alongside the existing direct injection system is a prime example of that approach in action. Rather than revising the combustion chamber, port injection (coupled with some subtle changes to the intake port geometry) improved fuel atomization and mixture preparation at low speeds, and aided stabilization of combustion at idle and light load without touching the high-speed combustion strategy.

Also supporting low-speed running was a redesigned throttle, in which the original barrel throttles were replaced with more traditional butterflies. “At high speed, it’s still got the same combustion philosophy,” Allsopp says. The idea of implementing variable valve timing (banned in F1) was floated to reduce low-speed emissions. However, although this would undoubtedly have helped, it was rejected to protect the DNA of the ICE.

Another tool that could be called upon to help with low-speed emissions compliance was the MGU-K, used to load the engine at low RPM. By harvesting energy from the ICE and directing it into the battery at light throttle, the team could maintain engine load at a point where combustion quality was acceptable. A quirk of this approach is that AMG One will not run its combustion engine if the battery is full, because the MGU-K loading strategy requires somewhere for that harvested energy to go. “It sounds a bit weird and a little bit counterintuitive,” acknowledges Allsopp, “but really it was about using the tools at our disposal to work out how this over-constrained problem could be solved.”

Cold-start emissions were also addressed, partly through catalyst preheating using the car’s high-voltage electrical system, a solution made practical by the available battery capacity. What couldn’t be tackled at source was handled through exhaust aftertreatment.

Electrical hurdles

The purity of purpose applied to the ICE was carried over to the electric machines. Initially, the race- specification MGU-H and MGU-K were simply swapped into the production PU, with two MGU-Ks deployed on the front axle. However, the reality of producing a relatively large run of these motors and ensuring they were fit for road use presented a few challenges.

The rear-mounted MGU-K was kept exactly as on the race car, directly driving the crank. At the front, a pair of MGUs was packaged with reduction gears to create what is referred to as the MGU-Fs. The electric machines run at very high speed: 35,000rpm for the rear and around 50,000rpm at the front. The motors are oil cooled, with two separate cooling circuits; the rotor is cooled using engine oil (and gearbox oil at the front), and the stator by a second loop that also incorporates the inverters.

It was in the motors that one of the project’s biggest hurdles emerged: NVH. Jack Mowat-Maconochie, now head of supply chain for the Advanced Technology group, observes, “In 2018 we started the drive-by noise testing. We knew the engine to be loud, but the electric machines were incredibly loud as well.” So loud, in fact, that they would never pass muster for road use. A solution was needed, but the source of the noise needed to be pinpointed first.

It was established that there were two key culprits: the gears in the front-axle fixed-ratio gearbox, and the electrical characteristics of the electric motors. The first was relatively straightforward to overcome, with detail work on the micro- and macro-geometry of the gears bringing the noise within tolerable margins. A similar process had to be undertaken on the ICE, which features a gear-driven camtrain positioned directly behind the driver, and initially proved a little too aurally aggressive.

The electrical element of the noise problem proved more troublesome and required an almost total rework of the motor architecture. “I was fiercely against changing the motor,” says Allsopp, who felt that doing so would detract from the overall ethos of the car. But the decision was effectively made for the team: “It was actually some of the NVH experts from AMG who said, ‘Look, here’s the data. You might not want to do this, but you will not sell this car with this motor.’ It’s quite hard to argue with that.”

Again, the easy option would have been to move away from the constraints originally set by the regulations, transition to a larger-diameter motor, reduce the RPM and cut the power. Instead, HPP set about reengineering the motor to fulfill the same brief as the original, but in an NVH-compliant way.

The result was an electrical redesign within the same packaging space, moving from a six-slot to a 24-slot architecture, as well as changes such as replacing Litz wire with more conventional windings. Coupled with revised magnet selection, a revised casing and the gear improvements, the result was a system that retained the spirit of the F1 units while meeting the stringent road-car legality requirements.

The new electrical design was also transferred to the rear MGU-K. “They’re identical,” says mechanical engineer Mark Digby. “They use the same rotor, stator and winding setup. They’re just packaged in different external housings to connect to the engine block and front gearbox respectively.” The choice to maintain commonality front and rear was a pragmatic one. “It was done to try to maximize commonality, so we are not making lots of different types of rotors and stators, given we had to produce more than 900 of them,” notes Digby.

From an F1 perspective, a run of this volume counts as mass production and required HPP to find a more efficient manufacturing process than the painstaking, largely manual approach used on F1 PUs. To this end, the engine maker developed automated in-house production capability for the rotors and stators, enabling repeatable production of motors regardless of the quantity required. “We were hand-winding them initially, and that was just not sustainable,” recalls Digby.

To be continued in part 2 … 

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UK battery technology company Integrals Power is to manufacture and supply hundreds of kilograms of its patented manganese-rich lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) cathode active material to a new UK government-funded project to develop advanced battery technology for the defence and automotive sectors. LMFP can be produced from raw materials sourced from Europe and North America, and does not use critical minerals.

The 30-month, £2m (US$2.69m) program, led by specialist battery supplier Denchi, will produce hundreds of demonstrator cells in pouch and cylindrical form factors – the latter in both 21700 and 4695 sizes. These will be manufactured on the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre‘s (UKBIC) new Flexible Pilot Line in Coventry, then assembled into battery packs at Denchi’s facility in Thurso in Scotland.

Funding has been secured through the Battery Innovation Programme, delivered by Innovate UK and supported by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

Integrals Power founder and CEO Behnam Hormozi said, “Our involvement in this program reflects the growing recognition that LMFP will transform battery performance, cost and supply chain resilience. By eliminating reliance on critical minerals such as cobalt and nickel while delivering higher energy density than LFP, LMFP is well suited to the evolving requirements of both defence and automotive applications. We are proud to contribute our materials expertise to a project that is helping to advance secure, sustainable battery technologies in the UK and beyond.”

The first validation trials will be carried using Denchi’s current BB-2590 design, which was developed specifically for military use, including radios, sensor systems, unmanned aerial and ground platforms and back-up power supplies for aircraft and marine systems. These ruggedized, waterproof packs, which weigh around 1.35kg, will have the existing nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cells replaced by the new LMFP cells.

“With more than 20 years’ experience supplying the military with British designed and built battery systems, we have a very clear understanding of what the defence sector needs as electrification becomes a core element of future strategy,” said Andrew Cowie, CEO, Denchi Group. “Sovereign capability is absolutely paramount, and by working in partnership on this program with Integrals Power, UKBIC and the UK government, we are playing our part in delivering exactly that. We look forward to building the first LMFP battery packs and getting them out into the field for validation trials.”

China currently dominates global LFP battery production, but tighter export controls on LFP cells, materials and manufacturing technology are increasing concerns over supply chain resilience. As LFP batteries continue to gain market share due to their lower cost, safety and durability, OEMs in Europe and North America are seeking to diversify supply and reduce dependence on Chinese manufacturing.

“Collaboration across the UK battery ecosystem is essential to translating innovation into long-term, strategic capability. Our new Flexible Pilot Line has a key role to play in this because it enables customers to accelerate the cost-effective scale-up of their technologies,” said Sean Gilgunn, UKBIC managing director. “Supporting the development of LMFP cells within an integrated UK supply chain is an important step toward strengthening long-term competitiveness in a broad range of sectors, including defence and automotive.”

Integrals Power’s LMFP material has a high manganese content of 80%, which enables up to 20% greater energy density than conventional LFP while retaining its key advantages. This combination of attributes, together with freedom from expensive cobalt and nickel and makes it a compelling alternative.

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Ford and Geely have formed a Europe-focused joint venture (JV) centered around Ford‘s manufacturing hub in Valencia. The JV will manufacture Ford and Geely multi-energy passenger vehicles for the European market.

By pooling production volume, the companies will maximize the capacity of the Valencia plant and reduce the cost of vehicles built there. Pending regulatory approvals, the joint venture will begin operations in the first half of 2027, with the first new vehicles scheduled to roll off the line in 2028. The Valencia plant will continue to produce the Ford Kuga in the meantime.

“This JV with Ford in Europe reflects our commitment to open, collaborative product development as part of our growth strategy, deepening our local presence and commitment to customers in Europe,” said Alex Nan, vice president of Geely Auto Group. “We are dedicated to delivering vehicles that European customers will choose on merit: on industry-leading features, on high quality and on actively contributing to Europe’s green future. Put simply: we are building cars in Europe, for Europe, alongside a trusted partner.”

Transforming Valencia

The JV will transform Ford’s Valencia facility into a shared, high-tech manufacturing hub. The plant opened in 1976 and built the original Fiesta, Ford’s first global front-wheel-drive car.

Under the proposed ownership structure, Ford will own 66% of the new entity and Geely Auto 34%.

“For nearly 50 years, Valencia has built some of the most-loved cars in our history, and now this team will help build our future,” said Jim Baumbick, the president of Ford of Europe. “That’s why we’re building a flexible, cost-effective industrial system with a capable partner in Geely Auto. Together we can fully utilize a best-in-class plant with a great workforce and match the industry’s new cost benchmark. This is all part of Ford’s vision to give European drivers rally-bred handling, true off-road capability and multi-energy technology, with a distinct Blue Oval DNA.”

The JV will combine the engineering, manufacturing and development know-how of both auto makers to build Ford and Geely low- and zero-emission passenger vehicles. The cars will be tailored for European drivers, offering them choice in powertrain technology.

Ford and Geely’s planned joint venture in Valencia will support production of several new models from 2028. Ford will continue building the Kuga alongside a new compact Bronco SUV and a jointly developed multi-energy family crossover. Geely plans to manufacture two electric SUVs at the facility as part of its European expansion strategy, with the first Geely-branded vehicles expected to enter production in 2028. According to the companies, the partnership is intended to strengthen Ford’s European product line-up while supporting Geely’s international growth.

“This partnership shows how auto makers are strengthening Europe’s industrial base, but we can’t do it alone,” said Baumbick. “What we’ve achieved in Valencia, with the ongoing support of Spain’s national and regional governments, is a masterclass in public-private partnership that sets the benchmark for the rest of Europe.”

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MG has announced that it is to build its first manufacturing facility in mainland Europe in Galicia, Spain. The new €200m (US$233m) plant is predicted to create more than 2,000 jobs across Europe and underlines the brand’s ‘In Europe, For Europe’ strategy, the auto maker said. Production is scheduled to begin in 2028, with an annual capacity of up to 120,000 vehicles.

“From technological innovation to the localization of manufacturing and R&D across Europe, supported by a truly global product line-up, MG continues to push the boundaries of what is possible – making advanced technology and sustainable mobility accessible to more people than ever before,” said William Wang, managing director, MG UK and Europe.

The site will integrate vehicle research and development, advanced manufacturing, core component supply and intelligent logistics operations, forming a fully connected, end-to-end industrial ecosystem. This platform will significantly expand localized production and sourcing, strengthening the resilience, responsiveness and agility of MG’s European supply chain.

MG will deepen collaboration with leading European technology partners, research institutions and local suppliers to accelerate innovation across key future-facing domains, including next-generation battery technology, intelligent mobility systems and clean energy solutions.

This announcement comes at a pivotal moment for the European automotive industry, as the EU’s 2035 zero-emission targets continue to accelerate the shift toward electrified mobility.

Wang said, “Through our ‘In Europe, For Europe’ strategy, we are not simply responding to the future of mobility – we are helping define it. By investing in local capabilities, strengthening our European footprint and fostering a more competitive automotive ecosystem, we are accelerating Europe’s journey toward a cleaner, smarter and more sustainable mobility future.”

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ZF and XCMG Construction Machinery have signed a joint venture agreement to strengthen their collaboration in the agricultural machinery sector. The new company, ZF (Xuzhou) Machinery, will be headquartered in the Xuzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone in Jiangsu Province, China.

The joint venture will focus on the production of advanced powershift driveline systems for agricultural machinery, and will combine global technology standards with tailored solutions that address the specific requirements of the Chinese market.

The partners plan to develop innovative components and system solutions that support the modernization of agricultural machinery in China while also enhancing their competitiveness in international markets.

“With this joint venture, we are taking the next step by expanding the local production of advanced powershift technology, a key enabler for the next generation of high-performance agricultural machinery,” said Andreas Moser, a member of the ZF board of management.

Yang Dongsheng, the chairman and party secretary of XCMG Group and XCMG Machinery, emphasized the transformation currently underway in China’s agricultural machinery sector: “The industry is evolving toward larger-scale, higher-end products and greater intelligence. Tractor powershift technology is at a key stage of rapid development. By combining XCMG’s strengths in high-end agricultural machinery with ZF’s technological expertise, we aim to jointly produce globally competitive solutions and strengthen China’s agricultural equipment industry.”

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Polar Semiconductor and Nexperia have announced a strategic collaboration to manufacture next-generation power MOSFET devices at Polar’s US-based wafer foundry. The collaboration addresses rapidly growing demand across AI server infrastructure, robotics, and industrial and automotive applications.

Nexperia is developing an extensive portfolio of next‑generation power MOSFETs, spanning a wide range of voltage classes and package types to address diverse power‑electronics requirements.

Polar Semiconductor, a US-based foundry with a high-volume Minnesota manufacturing facility, has more than 60 years of semiconductor expertise and over 25 years of automotive production experience.

“Investing in future technologies and expanding our power MOSFET portfolio are central to Nexperia’s strategy,” said Fredrik Öberg, general manager of the MOS business group at Nexperia. “Our MOSFETs are recognized for their industry-leading quality and reliability, and we are pleased to collaborate with Polar Semiconductor, a partner that shares our unwavering commitment to zero‑defect manufacturing and advanced power-device production.”

“At Polar, our vision is to create a differentiated wafer foundry focused on power, sensor and high-voltage semiconductors,” added Reza Kazerounian, the company’s executive chairman. “Partnering with Nexperia – one of the world’s leading power semiconductor companies – to bring their power MOSFET roadmap to market underscores the strength of our strategy and the progress we’ve made through targeted investment.”

Stefan Tilger, interim CEO at Nexperia, commented, “This collaboration is an important step in strengthening Nexperia’s long‑term manufacturing and supply-chain strategy. By working closely with Polar Semiconductor, we are securing reliable capacity and providing our customers with a strong, stable and resilient supply foundation to support future growth.”

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The partnership between Maserati and Bosch on the development of a hydrogen-powered race car has entered a new phase, with the companies unveiling an optimized hydrogen engine based on Maserati’s Nettuno gasoline engine. 

The 480kW unit represents the latest evolution of the companies’ hydrogen motorsport program. Developed to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen in long-distance competition, the project aims to deliver hypercar-level performance alongside a more sustainable approach to motorsport. The vehicle will return to the Le Mans circuit following its demonstration appearance last year, showcasing the progress made through a year of continuous development.

“To make a vision like the hydrogen race car a reality, you need a strong team. Our strategic partnership with Ligier Automotive is the foundation on which we are developing and testing the vehicle. At the same time, our collaboration with Maserati provided a first-class basis for the engine. This pooling of expertise is our key to bringing sustainable performance to the road faster,” said Ingo Mauel, head of Bosch Motorsport.

Innovative engineering for hypercar performance

The hydrogen unit developed by Bosch Engineering is based on the Maserati Nettuno, a 3.0-liter six-cylinder gasoline engine with biturbo charging and dry sump lubrication. For the conversion to hydrogen operation, core components like the cylinder head and turbocharger were retained from the original design. Within the base engine, the pistons were optimized in shape and to lower the compression ratio in order to extract even more power and performance at high RPMs. Other modifications were made to the injection system, the ignition system and the engine control unit.

Instead of the combined direct and port fuel injection, the current version uses modern hydrogen direct injection with HIDI LCV (hydrogen injection for direct injection, light commercial vehicles) injectors from Bosch. This enables the 3.0-liter hydrogen engine to produce around 480kW and deliver 880Nm of torque in this motorsport application.

Davide Danesin, head of Maserati engineering, said, “Nettuno is a state-of-the-art engine that continues to demonstrate robustness, efficiency and versatility. For this reason, it has proven to be particularly well-suited for conversion to hydrogen, thanks to its inherent strength, which allows it to withstand very high cylinder pressures.”

Bringing innovation to the track

Bosch Engineering entered a strategic partnership with Ligier Automotive in 2021. Together, the companies developed the hydrogen-powered race car prototype, the Ligier JS2 RH2. The vehicle was first presented at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June 2023. In the tests conducted since then, the vehicle and engine have proven their robustness over almost 8,000 test kilometers on track under various weather conditions without any technical issues. Continuous optimizations have led to the further development of the hydrogen concept; for example, the drive’s torque and power were increased while further reducing emissions.

“The Ligier JS2 RH2 project perfectly illustrates what can be achieved when three complementary areas of expertise come together,” said Jacques Nicolet, president of Ligier Automotive. “Our collaboration with Bosch Engineering and Maserati allows us to explore the full potential of hydrogen in motorsport, combining performance with sustainability. It also echoes a meaningful chapter in our history — the original Ligier JS2, powered by a V6 3L Maserati engine, [that] claimed victory at the Tour Auto in 1974. Today, this legacy inspires us to look ahead. Together, we are not only developing a race car demonstrator, but also opening the door to future applications, such as a decarbonized track-day car integrating Maserati engine technology and Bosch hydrogen systems.”

The Ligier JS2 RH2 with its hydrogen engine will complete a demo lap on the Le Mans race circuit on Saturday, June 13, 2026, and will be on display in the H2 Village throughout the race week.

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