Ford has enjoyed considerable success at the Rebelle Rally – an all-female off-road race devoid of modern GPS and smartphones to help participants navigate trails – since it first entered three teams driving Ford Bronco Sport crossovers there back in 2020. Since then, that same model has achieved the event’s first three-peat, and has been joined by the Ford Bronco, with the all-new Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally now set to expand The Blue Oval team for this year’s Rebelle Rally, which Ford recently became an official partner of. According to Ford North America Product Communications director Mike Levine, the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally destined for this race will also be charged by hydrogen fuel cells, too.
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This unique setup was created by a company called Renewable Innovations, Inc., which is bringing along a big rig loaded with hydrogen fuel cells capable of providing up to 800 kg – or the equivalent of 12,000 kWh of energy – of hydrogen supply generated by solar energy. This system is officially called MEC-H (Mobile Energy Command – Hydrogen), and is a fully-mobile charging solution for EVs and PHEVs that is independent of the power grid.
The MEC-H has the ability to power 50-75 homes and store upwards of 450 kWh of energy, employing dual rapid chargers that can charge up to four vehicles simultaneously. The system collects energy from the sun during the day, keeping the lights on and vehicles charged through the night. Additionally, Renewable Innovations is bringing along a support vehicle for this year’s Rebelle Rally that’s essentially a UTV of sorts, one that’s capable of providing up to 15 kWh of portable power, or tow vehicles back to base camp if needed.
We’ll have more on the Mach-E Rally soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Mustang Mach-E news and non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
Sounds cool when reading Brett’s catchy headline.
But: What’s powering the 65,000 lbs rig necessary to make all this happen? Several hundred gallons of diesel fuel… It would undoubtedly take less fuel to just fill-up an ICE powered race car or truck, and save the planet with less C02 / NOX emissions…
Next question: How many weeks does the solar setup take to generate the volume of hydrogen necessary for this race?
Why not offer a hydrogen alternative, electric has a long way to go