Lewis Hamilton has announced that he’s launching his own team to compete in the Extreme E off-road racing series. Hamilton’s team, X44, will be part of the first Extreme E race season, which is expected to take place at the start of next year. The superstar will, however, not be participating directly with the team due to commitments with his own, fossil fuel-powered racing career.

Extreme E is a race series featuring electric monster trucks — specifically the Odyssey 21 — racing through regions at risk from climate change. These massive vehicles will be driving around glaziers, through rainforests and over deserts, helping preserve their fragile ecosystems for future generations. The vehicle itself is built by Spark Racing Technology, the French company that built Formula E’s first and second-generation cars.

The machine is an absolute beast. It uses a niobium-reinforced steel alloy tubular frame and chunky 940mm wheels with, depending on the terrain, winter or summer tyres supplied by Continental. The racing juggernaut weighs 1,650kg and can go from nought to 62MPH (100KMH) in 4.5 seconds. That already-impressive time can also be achieved at gradients of up to 130 percent, according to the Goodwood editorial team. And here’s the best part — this isn’t the car’s final form. Twelve teams will be given this “base” version to tweak and develop throughout the competition.

The full dozen should be delivered by March 2020. The teams will then test their vehicles throughout the year and, if all goes to plan, start racing in early 2021. Extreme E hopes the competition will spark discussion about climate change and how electrified vehicles can help protect the environment. Running the races could prove tricky, however. The organizers have already realized that its dream courses will be in harsh, remote locations with little power, connectivity and infrastructure. To solve this problem, it bought a massive boat — the RMS St. Helena — that will be converted into a floating paddock and scientific research hub.

It’s easy to be skeptical. The team has already delivered one EV motorsport, however — so maybe they deserve the benefit of the doubt?