When it comes to electrification in transports, there is a lot of talk about electric cars, especially in our country where the supply is described as clean. It’s not the case everywhere else on the planet, however. That is why other solutions, such as hydrogen, are being seriously studied by some manufacturers.
This is the case for Toyota, but also for BMW, which firmly believes in this technology. In fact, the company has just announced that it has launched the start of fuel cell production at its hydrogen competence center in Munich, Germany. Oliver Zipse, BMW's chairman of the board, as well as Frank Weber, board member in charge of development, were at the press conference.
As previously reported, the iX5 Hydrogen concept, which was introduced last year, will go into limited production at the end of this year for testing and demonstration purposes. It will be powered by a fuel cell system that, when combined with a high-performance battery, will add one more option for the BMW product consumer by "adding a unique form of drive system."
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"As a versatile energy source, hydrogen has a key role to play on the road to climate neutrality. It will also become significantly more important for personal mobility. We believe that hydrogen vehicles are ideally placed technologically to integrate with electric vehicles and complete the picture of electric mobility," said Oliver Zipse.
In the press release it issued, BMW provided some details about the production steps, and that of its individual fuel cell supply is quite interesting. In fact, the German carmaker will turn to Toyota, which confirms previously reported rumors about the two firms collaborating on the mass production of new hydrogen-powered models.
Remember that BMW and Toyota have already collaborated in the past, notably to give life to the Z4/GR Supra sports cars.
According to BMW, fuel cell systems are manufactured in two stages. First, a fuel cell stack is assembled from individual Toyota fuel cells. All other components are then assembled to complete the system. Both processes are done in-house at BMW's Landshut plant in Germany, a city about an hour northeast of Munich.
As for the iX5 Hydrogen model, BMW has not yet detailed specifications. The concept offered 168 horsepower. Range remains a mystery for now.
We'll be watching from the corner of our eye, because if it's up to certain manufacturers, hydrogen will only become more prevalent in the coming years. Of course, currently, the question of a fueling network remains an issue for us.