BMW joins Toyota, Kia and Hyundai on hydrogen bandwagon

By CARSIFU | 31 March 2020

MUNICH: Despite having invested heavily in battery technology for electric vehicles, BMW has also been dabbling in the alternative hydrogen fuel cell powertrain technologies.The German carmaker offers first virtual insights into the powertrain system for the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT for emission-free mobility.This approach also takes into consideration different market and customer requirements as part of the company’s Power of Choice strategy.The company has been working with Toyota Motor Corporation on fuel cell technology since 2013.It will be some time before a production car powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology can be offered due to the lack of infrastructure and hydrogen needs to be produced using green electricity in sufficient quantities for it to be priced competitively.Only then can hydrogen will then be used primarily in applications that cannot be directly electrified, such as long-distance heavy-duty transportation.The company is already bringing battery electric vehicles to market with sustainable energy and will soon be offering its customers a wide range of electrified vehicles.A total of 25 models have been slated for launch by 2023, including at least twelve with an all-electric powertrain.BMW and Toyota are looking into fuel cell powertrain systems with components that are scalable and modular for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles under a product development cooperation agreement.Fuel cells from the cooperation with Toyota will be deployed in the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT, alongside a fuel cell stack and overall system developed by the BMW Group.The fuel cell stack generates 170hp from the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen sourced from ambient air and emits nothing but water vapour.The electric converter located underneath the fuel cell adapts the voltage level to that of both the electric powertrain and the peak power battery, which is fed by brake energy as well as the energy from the fuel cell.The vehicle also accommodates a pair of 700 bar tanks that can together hold 6kg of hydrogen which can be refuelled in three to four minutes.The fifth-generation eDrive unit set to make its debut in the iX3 is also fully integrated into the i Hydrogen NEXT.The battery positioned above the electric motor injects an extra dose of dynamics when overtaking or accelerating with a total output of 374hp.This hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain will be piloted in a small series based on the current X5 that BMW plans to present in 2022.A customer offering that's powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology will be brought to market at the earliest in the second half of this decade by the Bavarian automaker, depending on the global market conditions and requirements.As well as partnering on the development and industrialisation of fuel cell technology for the mass market, the two companies are also founding members of the Hydrogen Council.Other leading companies in the energy, transport and industrial sectors have joined the council since 2017, bringing the total number of members to 80.BMW is currently involved in research to make compact hydrogen storage tanks that can carry an optimum volume of fuel.This alliance is between BMW AG, Munich University of Applied Sciences, Leichtbauzentrum Sachsen GmbH, the Technical University of Dresden and WELA Handelsgesellschaft mbH.The collaboration seeks to develop high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks designed to allow easy integration into future universal vehicle architectures.The project aims to develop tanks with a flat design. Set to run for a period of three-and-a-half years and receives funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy,Additionally, the project looks to help lower the cost of manufacturing hydrogen tanks for fuel cell vehicles, enabling them to compete effectively with battery electric vehicles.