Goodbye E-cars: BMW Wants to Mass-Produce Hydrogen Cars

[gjm 3192]

BMW is advancing the series production of hydrogen cars.

Oliver Zipse, CEO announced to handelsblatt:

Hydrogen as an energy carrier will play an important role in many regions of the world.

To this end, the BMW Group is launching “the everyday testing of near-series vehicles with a hydrogen fuel cell drive on European roads,” according to a statement from the company. The first small series of BMW hydrogen cars is to be presented before the end of 2022.

Series production: BMW plans hydrogen as an important powertrain pillar
“The upper end of our X family, which enjoys great popularity with our customers, is particularly suitable here,” says Zipse. Overall, the energy crisis is driving hydrogen propulsion enormously.

“I can well imagine that we will also see the fuel cell in series production in the new class in the future,” explains CEO Zipse.

BMW has been working on fuel cell technology together with Toyota since 2013. Just recently, a Chinese automaker announced the first mass production of hydrogen cars. In Germany, researchers at the Aerospace Center announced a hydrogen car at a low price.

Klaus Fröhlich, Board Member for Development at BMW AG, explained:
"We are convinced that different alternative drive systems will coexist in the future, as there is no single solution that covers all the mobility requirements of customers worldwide."
“The hydrogen fuel cell drive can become a fourth pillar in our drive portfolio in the long term.”

With road testing of BMW hydrogen cars proven successful, the direction is set, but before series production starts, there are hurdles to overcome.

Axel Rücker, Program Manager Hydrogen Fuel Cell at the BMW Group, explains:
"We have a chicken-and-egg problem with hydrogen propulsion."
“As long as the network of hydrogen filling stations is so thin, the low demand from customers will not enable profitable series production of fuel cell cars. And as long as there are hardly any hydrogen cars on the roads, operators will be reluctant to expand their refuelling network.”

[jon dee 500]

Finally.... some common sense enters the discussion   Battery manufacturers have had far too much influence on the direction of motor vehicle development for far too long. 

Cheers... 

[gjm 3192]

1 hour ago, jon dee said:

Finally.... some common sense enters the discussion   Battery manufacturers have had far too much influence on the direction of motor vehicle development for far too long. 

Cheers... 

Agreed.

I have long supported hydrogen and related technology. There ARE issues but they are rapidly being overcome - the nature of the storage vessel on the vehicle has been one, but there is now technology for 'soft' cells which will obviously support variety of placement in vehicular configurations.

Electric vehicles had the same issue. That the industry has rushed headlong into charging stations is a concern for the widespread rollout of hydrogen vehicles, but European plans for using current petrol and diesel stations for this is moving ahead at significant pace. Transfer of hydrogen from creation source to distribution point is being resolved through use of existing gas lines, and on-site production.

It can happen. I feel it must happen.

[KwS 2373]

You're talking like it isnt already. Toyota is on its second generation of Mirai which seems to be received quite positively, with the only real complaint being the lack of filling stations. Hyundai also has the Nexo, which has the same issue.

Really looking forward to big names finally pushing Hydrogen a bit harder. Hopefully this is the start of what we need to finally topple the battery monopoly.

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

How does BMW plan to implement oil filter housing and sump gasket oil leaks in it's non-ICE portfolio?

How does BMW, and Germany in general, plan to generate hydrogen now that the Russians are turning off the taps on their gas pipelines? 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2914]

2 hours ago, jon dee said:

Finally.... some common sense enters the discussion   Battery manufacturers have had far too much influence on the direction of motor vehicle development for far too long. 

Most manufacturers have long known that battery electric vehicles are only a stop-gap solution to cover between the forced end of ICE production and the long-term solution. Whether that longer term solution is hydrogen, synthetic fuel, nuclear fusion or whatever is still up for grabs. HFC would appear to be a front runner at this point.

[tawa 150]

4 hours ago, jon dee said:

Finally.... some common sense enters the discussion   Battery manufacturers have had far too much influence on the direction of motor vehicle development for far too long. 

Cheers... 

What, like 10 years? So we should instead go back to being influence by the oil industry?

Our energy production technologies isn't ready for widespread FCEV, it's just not energy efficient enough to produce clean hydrogen yet, so we still rely on the oil industry to produce the Gray/Blue hydrogen in vastly greater quantities than the Green hydrogen which would actually offer significant climate change benefits vs a petrol car. But hey, something to be said for slacktivism right!

FCEV's currently cover both sides of the coin, they're able to be used with renewable energy created elsewhere like a BEV, or from non-renewable sources like dino-burners. The technology offers some benefits in range and 'recharge' time but efficiency is key in so many applications.

Long term FCEVs will be a dead end the same way that Lithium Ion batteries will be, but both systems are stepping stones in the right direction, and we're seeing a lot of innovation that comes with exploration of newer technologies that can only benefit the industry/products/consumers overall.

To be clear though, Elon needs to pull his head out of his arse, and drop the battery semi truck idea until techology catches up.