A bomb went off at the Rally Dakar! The end of internal combustion engines is approaching.
By: Power Orbital
Tags: Technology, Sustainability, Battery Storage, Battery, Dakar

Measuring HE3DA batteries performance after a long rally day.

First important step toward sustainable future of Dakar Rally with HE3DA team.

HE3DA truck in the middle of a desert during Dakar Rally competition.

A bomb went off at the Dakar Rally! The end of internal combustion engines is approaching.

A bomb went off at the Dakar Rally this year! Not on the track mind you, no one was hurt and not even a single car flew into the air. The bomb exploded when organizers of the world’s most demanding rally announced the end of internal combustion engines is rapidly approaching. As soon as 2022, a specific “alternative energy” category is to be created placing focus on the competitors racing hybrid, electric, or hydrogen-powered cars and trucks. Any and all companies implementing emission-slashing technologies can get in the game! The sporting rules will be modified; striking the perfect balance and ensuring each and every project is competitive and balanced.

In 2026, all elite competition in the Dakar Rally auto and truck categories, are required to enter the race with vehicles meeting new, ultra-low emission standards. Down the road, development of these technologies is expected to enable amateur competition to procure vehicles meeting similar standards, qualifying them for participation in Dakar Rally 2030. In 2030, both auto and truck categories are to be fully powered by alternative energy with zero emissions.

Some competitors and sponsors lost their minds…others shrugged it off. Led by Radomír Prus, a Czech team cheered loudly! It was Mr. Radomir Prus who proposed the idea of electric racing trucks. Finally, at this year’s Rally Dakar, this once crazy idea, Radomir’s dream…sprang to life. On the Instaforex team, Loprais Praga already succesfully tested various HE3DA systems, using nanomaterial and solar batteries!

“All of these systems work perfectly, and there is great interest in the batteries amongst the competetion. We often organize excursions, so the competitors and their sponsors may go watch vehicles perform. They are fascinated by how they work, and how they may be used.” stated a satisfied Prus, founder of this unique project. In Loprais’s team garage, there is juice available for the vast majority of available space, including all relevant lights and equipment. “For welding, Ales’s mechanics carry a small, portable unit around…Our batteries power everything else. They also illuminate our small cafe, where we eat, and relax,” he added, “This power plant on wheels has no problem producing 7 kilowatt hours or more!”

In the field, the batteries have proven themselves as very reliable, driven by competitor Jan Tomanek’s Tatra. “We didn’t dismantle them until Jan finished. Helping Ales Lopraiz on the track was his primary role, driving the support vehicle. He confirmed the batteries work perfectly and are functional after three demanding stages. The voltage only dropped a meager 0.02 volts in the full thirty days they spent in the car. This confirms the assumption that even racing trucks can be electric. The solar system is also perfect. It’s not over yet, but we can say that our systems exceeded expectations,” Prus rejoiced. For over a year now, Prus preached the bright future of electric trucks, “Emissions from engines are suffocating inside the garage. Outside, natural elements suffer as well. For orthodox proponents of internal combustion engines, the demise of purely internal combustion engines at Dakar is a major blow; especially for Russian competitor Kamaz, who practically perfected their specialized combustion engines. We are rejoicing because we are several years ahead of the game. We refused to make a hybrid, and are going in our own direction,” Prus emphasized. The extension of the support car was done by Praga electrical systems, and improvements by Exelsior Engineering. The batteries were manufactured by Magna Energy Storage based on HE3DA patented technology developed by Jan Prochazka, PhD .

Dakar Rally is a one of a kind racing competition. One stage of the famous rally is coming to an end, opening up anew, “I am, so to speak, satisfied with the Dakar Rally, formally dominated by Karel Loprais and the Tatra. Today, the competition is completely different, Dakar Rally is a new so called “F1 competition”. It’s not just about reliability, but primarily about speed. Most vehicless go through general maintenace in the garage almost daily. However at Kamaz, often ten mechanics will pounce on them and in a just a few hours, will build another nearly brand new car,” said Prus. For Prus and his colleague Jiri Vavrik, Dakar Rally is also a personal test. “The first day I thought I wouldn’t go any further.

I suffered terribly, but my body got used to it and I’m fine. Dakar Rally is a huge experience, even if you’re not driving on the track. You encounter camels and meet many interesting people. We were there when a local man offered the Buggyra boys a camel for their escort truck. They refused, however when he offered the two, they hesitated,” Prus laughed.

He came to Dakar Rally to practice and learn about sustainable future of Dakar. There is now a huge interest in the HE3DA battery system all over the world. And so the original Czech battery system became the winner of the Dakar Rally without running a single race, while supporting world’s transition for sustainable future.