British Driver Andy Green to Attempt Hydrogen Speed Records at Bonneville in 2026

British driver Andy Green will return to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, United States, in August 2026 to launch a formal speed challenge under the official supervision of the FIA, driving the Hydromax, a hydrogen-powered record-breaking car built by British construction equipment manufacturer JCB. The car is 32 feet (about 9.75 metres) long and is powered by two hydrogen engines modified from JCB construction machinery, with a combined output of 1,600 horsepower. It uses a conventional internal-combustion route in which pressurised hydrogen is mixed with air and ignited, rather than a hydrogen fuel cell driving an electric motor.

In testing before the formal challenge, Green has already recorded a speed of 368.347 miles per hour (about 592.7 km/h). Green previously set a mark of 763.035 mph in the jet-powered Thrust SSC at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada in 1997, becoming the first person to break the sound barrier on land.

Chairman Anthony Bamford said at the new car's launch in May 2026 that the land speed record project is a way to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen technology. Most of the world's hydrogen is still produced from fossil fuels. JCB has signed agreements to purchase "green hydrogen" produced from renewable energy, but such hydrogen accounts for only a small share of global supply. Hydrogen storage requires high pressure and is flammable. The team conducted extensive testing before the event, and Green spent months studying how the two engines work together and how the car handles on the salt surface.

The Bonneville Salt Flats course is straight and open, but surface grip is limited. Green will rely on parachutes to slow down after each run. The challenge is planned to take place shortly after sunrise to avoid the midday heat. The salt flats have been used for speed challenges since 1914. They lie about 100 miles west of Salt Lake City, with a straight course of about 10 miles in length. Spectators typically watch from a safe distance of about a quarter of a mile away. The hydrogen-powered car will not challenge Green's supersonic record from 1997.