Pioneering new technologies

House or power source? In spring 2015 HHF will finally be able to move into his new home. The native of Mönchengladbach has included a comprehensive concept for renewables in planning the house.

 

Energy production using solar power – while this form of generating electricity may not sound as innovative anymore as it used to, the concept becomes particularly attractive when it’s not only used to heat the house but generates sufficient energy to supply the owner’s private fleet. HHF and his wife exclusively drive electric vehicles.

 

Monsieur 100,000 Volts – HHF has been fascinated for years by the idea of cars being powered by electricity. If motorsport is to have a future it has to pioneer alternative energy concepts.

 

When CNN asked him to test a racing car of the newly formed FIA Formula E Championship in summer 2014 HHF immediately accepted. The American TV channel had addressed its request to exactly the right person. There is no renowned professional racer anywhere in the world with a greater wealth of experience in battery electric and hybrid electric cars than the runner-up in the 1997 F1 World Championship.

 

In 2008 HHF converted a production sports car for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring into a hybrid electric racing car. Thanks to state-of-the-art battery technology – put together by HHF himself – the racing car completed an entire Nordschleife lap strictly powered by electricity – from a historic perspective, the first electric lap in the Green Hell.

 

The issue that prevented HHF from achieving top positions in the 24-hour race was a problem with the conventional gearbox, whereas the hybrid powertrain impeccably covered the whole distance.