JCB Hydromax Begins Testing Ahead Of Hydrogen Land Speed Record Bid

JCB’s attempt to set a new world hydrogen land speed record has moved from the drawing board to the runway, with the company’s Hydromax record car now built and undergoing full testing in the UK.

The 32ft machine, powered by two JCB hydrogen internal combustion engines, is being prepared for a record attempt at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA. Testing is currently taking place at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, where the car has already reached 177mph with Wing Commander Andy Green OBE behind the wheel.

JCB first revealed the Hydromax project at its World Headquarters in Staffordshire on 12 May 2026, setting out its ambition to challenge for a Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or FIA, world hydrogen land speed record. Just over a month later, the car is complete, running and being put through a detailed UK test programme before being flown to the United States.

The project is more than a headline-grabbing speed attempt. It is also a high-profile showcase for JCB’s hydrogen engine programme, which has seen the British manufacturer invest £100 million into the development of hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines for construction equipment and earthmoving machinery.

JCB has already put hydrogen-powered diggers into production, and the Hydromax uses two production-based JCB hydrogen engines similar to those now being used in the company’s construction machines. Together, they produce a combined 1,600bhp.

JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford, who has spearheaded the company’s hydrogen engine investment, said: “Twelve months ago this car was a set of drawings being discussed by a room full of engineers. Today it is a reality and on wheels, running, and being tested in the UK. The team has done a wonderful job to get us to this point. Our focus now turns to the real challenge: setting a world hydrogen land speed record in Bonneville.”

The first technical partner meeting for the Hydromax project took place on 5 June 2025, bringing together JCB, Prodrive, Ricardo and Xtrac. Almost a year to the day, the car completed its first run under hydrogen power at RAF Wittering, marking the start of the testing phase.

That test programme is not simply about top speed. The team is working through shakedown runs, hydrogen refuelling drills, pit-stop rehearsals, tyre changes and full system checks. Every procedure completed in the UK is one less unknown when the team arrives on the Salt Flats.

JCB Engineering Director Ryan Ballard, who is leading the project, said: “More than 150,000 hours of work has got us to this point; the next phase is where we find out what the car actually does, not what we think it will do. Every run, every refuel and every tyre change we complete in the UK is one our team won’t be doing for the first time on the Salt Flats. Our goal is simple: to arrive at Bonneville fully prepared, with a car and a crew that know exactly what they are doing.”

The engineering behind the Hydromax is impressive. Around one kilometre of wiring runs through the car, while 3D-printed components have been used extensively to save weight and manage packaging. The crankshaft is the same component used in JCB’s 448 hydrogen and diesel engines, underlining the production-based nature of the powertrain.

Keeping the engines alive at full power is one of the biggest technical challenges. The pistons alone need one litre of cooling oil every second, which is as much oil flow as the rest of the engine combined. Specially developed exhaust valve technology has also been used to cope with the temperatures generated by 1,600bhp of hydrogen combustion.

Each titanium turbo compressor spins at more than 150,000rpm at close to 300°C, moving the equivalent of a standard bathtub of air every half-second. Yet despite the performance, the exhaust output remains central to the message behind the project. On a full record run, JCB says the Hydromax will use just over two kilograms of hydrogen and produce 18 litres of water.

For the wider construction equipment industry, the record attempt comes at a time when manufacturers, contractors, plant hire companies, quarry operators and fleet owners are all looking closely at emissions, fuel use and total cost of ownership. Battery-electric machinery is growing in several size classes, but JCB has been clear in its belief that hydrogen combustion has an important role to play, particularly for heavier machines and high-utilisation applications.

Hydrogen internal combustion engines allow manufacturers to use familiar engine architecture while removing diesel from the machine. For contractors and fleet operators, that could offer a practical route to lower emissions while retaining the durability, refuelling speed and working patterns expected from conventional construction machinery.

The FIA has welcomed the progress of the project. FIA President H.E. Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “JCB Hydromax’s first official test marks an important milestone on the road to a new hydrogen land speed record. This is a big achievement and I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Lord Bamford and the entire JCB team. Through this world record attempt JCB is pushing the boundaries of engineering innovation and hydrogen technology, demonstrating the role motorsport can play to advance the future of mobility. I look forward to seeing the project continue to develop ahead of its world record attempt in August.”

At Bonneville, the Hydromax will be driven by Andy Green, the fastest man on earth. Green holds the outright land speed record at 763.035mph and remains the only person to have broken the sound barrier on land. He was also the driver of the JCB Dieselmax, which set the FIA world diesel land speed record of 350.092mph at Bonneville in August 2006, a record that still stands.

JCB now intends to go back to the same famous Salt Flats with a lighter, more powerful and faster machine. The ambition is not only to set a world hydrogen land speed record, but also to beat the 350mph achieved by the JCB Dieselmax.

Following testing in the UK, the team will head to Bonneville for SpeedWeek, the world-famous land speed racing event run by the Southern California Timing Association. The team will then remain at the Salt Flats to pursue officially recognised FIA world records.

The Hydromax project also comes as JCB prepares for a major expansion in North America. The company is set to open a new $500 million, one million sq ft factory in San Antonio, Texas. The 400-acre site will employ around 1,500 people and manufacture machines for the US market.

JCB has a long history of using speed records to showcase engineering. In 2019, the JCB Fastrac was crowned the world’s fastest tractor at 135.191mph. In 2014, the JCB GT set the world record for the fastest backhoe loader at 72.58mph. Before that, the Dieselmax put JCB firmly into the land speed record books.

Now, with the Hydromax, the British manufacturer is using the world of high-speed engineering to draw attention to one of the biggest challenges facing construction equipment: how to reduce emissions without losing the performance, productivity and reliability that heavy machinery users depend on.

If the record attempt is successful, it will be another major achievement for JCB. More importantly for the industry, it will put hydrogen combustion technology firmly in the spotlight at a time when contractors, quarry operators, demolition businesses, plant hire fleets and heavy equipment manufacturers are all weighing up the future of machine power.