How Extreme E’s charging solution could transform motorsport

Extreme E has yet to turn a wheel in competition, yet its A-list roster of teams, drivers and owners has captured column inches the world over in anticipation of the first all-electric rally raid series. The 2016 Formula 1 championship protagonists Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg do battle once more as owners of their own XE outfits, while 2009 F1 title winner Jenson Button will get behind the wheel of his own team’s ODYSSEY 21 chariot to boost an already-impressive cast of racers.

The premise of the series is to draw attention to areas of the globe ravaged by climate change by racing on them, then working with scientists and ecologists to restore those affected zones. A noble and worthwhile cause, no doubt, which is especially pertinent as more attention has begun to fall on worldwide social and environmental issues. That said, producing a racing series with such a strong social mission statement would be for naught if, say, it fell into the trap of operating on a logistics system with little regard for eco-friendliness. But XE has thought of that.