{"id":7215,"date":"2024-10-02T09:50:38","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T13:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/ferrari-hydrogen-engine-upside-down\/7215\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T07:19:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T11:19:52","slug":"ferrari-hydrogen-engine-upside-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/ferrari-hydrogen-engine-upside-down\/7215\/","title":{"rendered":"Ferrari patents an upside-down hydrogen engine for a hybrid car, with hydrogen tanks on either side of the engine"},"content":{"rendered":"More and more large companies are seeking to join the extensive ranks of sustainable mobility due to the imminent threat posed by the high carbon dioxide emissions emitted by engines powered by large pollutants such as fossil fuels. Ferrari has patented a design<\/strong> for a hydrogen engine in a hybrid car. The application was published in February 2024<\/a>, and what exists is a filing with drawings and descriptions, not a working engine. Ferrari has not announced a production car that uses it. Patent records show the European patent<\/a> was granted in January 2025 and the US patent in December 2025.\n

Ferrari files a patent for a hydrogen engine in a hybrid car<\/h2>\nFor a long time, we have witnessed all kinds of innovations coming from the automotive sector, where we have seen beneficial engines powered by electricity, and others that bet more on internal combustion engines running on cleaner fuels. One of the most prestigious globally recognized brands<\/strong>, Ferrari, has filed a patent for a hybrid car whose combustion engine runs on hydrogen, a fuel that produces no CO2 when burned.\n\nThe prestigious automotive brand, Ferrari, has described in a patent application an engine that runs on hydrogen as fuel. Besides electric cars, one option for cutting the emissions of a car like this is a combustion engine that burns hydrogen instead of gasoline. Burning hydrogen produces no CO2 from the fuel itself, although such engines can still produce nitrogen oxides (NOx)<\/a>. Replacing gasoline with hydrogen<\/strong> would remove the tailpipe CO2 that gasoline engines emit, although how clean the hydrogen is depends on how it is produced. The patent itself notes that hydrogen is not an energy source but an energy carrier that has to be made by reforming or electrolysis. This is the main reason why companies are looking for these alternative fuels, as they aim to curb environmental damage while advancing toward a future of sustainable energy sources.\n

Key features of the patented design<\/h2>\nThe patent describes a hydrogen engine that emits no CO2 from its fuel and has a feature that matters to speed enthusiasts: the sound. It places the exhaust outlet on the driver’s side, close to the passenger compartment, so that a natural, unprocessed exhaust note reaches the driver. The car is a hybrid<\/strong>: the hydrogen engine drives the rear wheels, and in the version the patent illustrates an electric machine drives the front wheels. The stated aim is high performance on track without sacrificing range.\n\nThe layout is unusual. The engine is mounted upside down: the crankshaft sits above the cylinders, and the cylinder head, with its camshafts and valves, is the lowest part of the engine. In the version the patent illustrates, six cylinders sit in a row, which leaves room for hydrogen tanks on both sides of the engine. The patent also says the car’s layout allows a very large rear aerodynamic extractor, which helps generate downforce.\n\nBeyond its claimed benefits, the layout also raises engineering questions. Motor Trend asked<\/strong> how oil will be recovered when gravity no longer pulls it toward the bottom of the engine, and whether oil left behind could seep into the cylinders, as Repairer Driven News<\/a> reports. Making this design work for widespread use would likely take time and resources. AutoGuide<\/a>, which spotted the filings, doubts that Ferrari will actually build the car and suggests the patents may mainly be a way to hold the rights for the future.\n

How the patent handles oil in an upside-down engine<\/h2>\nTo deal with that, the patent describes a dry-sump lubrication circuit, where the oil is stored in a separate reservoir instead of a pan under the engine. It uses three oil pumps: one sends oil into the engine, and two draw it back out from the lowest part of the engine, around the cylinder head, up to a reservoir placed higher. In a traditionally used engine, the oil falls into the crankcase<\/strong>, regardless of whether it is dry or wet.\n\nThe patent also describes how the engine would be supercharged. In the main version, two centrifugal compressors turned by one electric motor push extra air into the engine, and two exhaust turbines drive an electric generator. In an alternative version, the compressors take their motion mechanically from the dual-clutch gearbox, with no electric drive.\n\nResearch of this type matters for the energy transition, which seeks new alternatives for lower-emission engines<\/strong>. For now, Ferrari’s hydrogen engine remains a patented design, not an announced product.\n\n

First published on 2 October 2024 and corrected on 28 October 2026 to remove inaccurate statements, including that Ferrari had presented a working engine and that it burns water.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More and more large companies are seeking to join the extensive ranks of sustainable mobility due to the imminent threat … <\/p>\n

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