Extreme E, the sister series to Formula E based on electric SUVs, has announced lightweight materials company CBMM Niobium as a Founding Supplier to the new off-road series.
CBMM had signalled its interest in Extreme E earlier this year as a Launch Partner at the series unveiling in London. Continental tyres was announced as the first Founding Partner at the same event.
The new deal will allow CBMM to showcase its range of lightweight niobium products throughout the start-up series. The company will supply the technology for the chassis of the electric SUVs. Niobium is a light metal which will enhance the speed capabilities of the cars with its high energy density.
The technology can also be used to develop light-weight batteries, drivetrains, wheels and other ancillary components. CBMM already has over 300 customers in 50 different countries.
Extreme E has been dubbed ‘Dhakar rally meets Blue Planet’. Its races will take place in five different locations that have been hit by climate change: the Himalayas, Artic, Amazon Rainforest, Sahara Desert and an island in the Indian Ocean.
It was conceived in 2018 by Gil De Ferran and Alejandro Agag to create a new platform for the emerging electric car industry that would attract new audiences that have been missed by the successful Formula E racing series.
Venturi Automobiles, the parent company of the Venturi ABB FIA Formula E team, recently became the first team to enter the series, which launches in 2021.
The first model of the SUV to be raced in the series will be revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. The cars will be made by Spark Racing Technology which also made the cars for the fifth season of Formula E. A source told SportBusiness that, although the two series will work quite closely together, the new competition will be a “separate entity to Formula E completely”.
Formula E has received increasing attention since its launch in 2011 and attracted a wide array of new sponsors since its first race in September 2014.
The series is broadcast on FOX Sports and its subsidiaries in the Americas and ITV 4 in the UK. Additionally, a deal was signed before the 18/19 season with the BBC for the series to be broadcast on BBC iPlayer as well as its website and red button services.