Qiddiya City to host inaugural hydrogen-powered FIA Extreme H World Cup
The race acts as a successor to Extreme E, and will take place next month, from October 9 to 11
Get ready to witness a new era for the world of motorsports. Qiddiya City, the giga-project on the outskirts of Riyadh, has been announced to host the first-ever FIA Extreme H World Cup, the world’s premier hydrogen-powered motorsport series.
The race will take place from Thursday October 9 to Saturday October 11, with the dramatic backdrop of the Tuwaiq Mountains, close to the site that is currently undergoing transformation to become a world-leading motorsport venue.
So, what is the FIA Extreme H World Cup?
The event marks the official transition from the all-electric Extreme E championship.
Extreme E was launched to highlight the impact of climate change by staging off-road events in challenging locations across the world while running on low emissions.
But with hydrogen fuel now seen as the future, not electric, the World Cup will mark the championship’s transition into Extreme H.
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The road to the Extreme H World Cup will be paved with a “final fling” for the Extreme E series. A week before the hydrogen-powered racers take to the specially designed off-road location at Qiddiya City, the final Extreme E Desert X Prix will be held at the same location on Saturday October 4 and Sunday October 5, providing a fitting send-off for the all-electric series that has captivated audiences since its inception in 2021.
This will be a poignant moment for the teams and drivers who have been a part of the Extreme E journey, as they bid farewell to one chapter and prepare for the next.
Redefining the future of off-road racing
The Extreme H World Cup will run a similar format to Extreme E in that each team must field one male and one female driver per car. This makes it the second international four-wheel motorsport event to do so.
However, details on the sporting format, and the teams, drivers, and partners who will be competing, are yet to be announced, but are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.
As the countdown to October 2025 begins, the anticipation is building. The inaugural FIA Extreme H World Cup in Qiddiya City promises to be a spectacle of speed (matched only by the whisper-quiet power of the hydrogen fuel cells), skill, and sustainability.
And this is all part of Qiddiya’s plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060, with initiatives that include 100 per cent wastewater reuse, renewable energy infrastructure and EV charging in 80 per cent of parking spaces.
Central to the plans is a major tree planting focus with Saudi Arabia’s national goal of planting 10 billion trees by 2030.
