It changes everything.
If the hydrogen car belongs to the category of electric vehicles, it does not need to be recharged.
Filling up with hydrogen does not take longer than with a combustion engine model.
Barely four minutes when you sometimes have to wait several hours to recharge the batteries.
As part of the ecological transition, some manufacturers, the Asians in the lead, consider that the fuel cell vehicle powered by hydrogen represents an avenue not to be overlooked.
Provided that the hydrogen is produced from renewable energies.
Hyundai and Toyota have even taken the lead, marketing the Nexo and Mirai respectively to the European market.
The iX5 Hydrogen traction chain.
BMW
As for European manufacturers, for nearly ten years, BMW has been cooperating with Toyota to develop this technology.
In Munich, it resulted in the production of demonstrators based on the X5.
These vehicles have just completed a test campaign in the Arctic Circle.
On the way back to their Bavarian base, one of them stopped in Paris where we were able to cover a few kilometers on board, in the company of Dr. Jürgen Guldner, in charge of the hydrogen program at BMW.
Tom Kirkpatrick/Tom Kirkpatrick/BMW AG
In every way identical to a classic X5, with the exception of more indented air intakes in the bumper, a more vertical grille and blue decorations borrowed from the BMW i family, the iX5 Hydrogen only emits vapor of water.
Unlike the 2007 7 Series Hydrogen, which was based on a V12 dual-fuel gasoline - liquid hydrogen fuel, current technology has rallied to the fuel cell powered by hydrogen, to the benefit of efficiency and local emissions.
This energy vector is stored at 700 bars in two carbon fiber reinforced plastic tanks placed under the floor and displaying a volume of 6 kilos.
The largest tank is located longitudinally;
the second is under the rear seat, in the transverse position.
By combining the power of the battery (170 hp) and the fifth generation electric motor identical to that of the BMW iX and installed on the rear axle as well as the contribution of the battery, the cumulative transient power of the iX5 comes to 374 horses.
For the record, an X5 xDrive45e plug-in hybrid has a power of 394 horsepower thanks to the combination of a 286 hp 3-liter gasoline inline six-cylinder and a 113 hp electric motor.
Tom Kirkpatrick/Tom Kirkpatrick/BMW AG
A range of 500 km
On board the iX5, the sensations and performance are similar to those of a battery electric vehicle.
The transmission has only one gear ratio and regeneration can be modulated on several levels.
Engineer Guldner announces a range of at least 500 km.
The vehicle is close to obtaining its visa for a small series production.
“We are going to produce a fleet of around fifty iX5 Hydrogen by the end of the year.
These vehicles will serve as a full-scale test but also to promote this technology to opinion leaders and European authorities”
, explains D. Guldner.
In 2025, BMW is expected to launch vehicles with this technology on the market.
BMW
As part of the package of 12 “Fit for 55” legislative proposals, the European Commission plans to deploy hydrogen refueling stations.
According to the "AFIR" regulation (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation), it is planned to install stations every 150 kilometers maximum, along the main roads of all the member countries of the European Union.
BMW considers this project insufficient to encourage the development of hydrogen and is campaigning to reduce these intervals to 100 km by 2027. The war in Ukraine has reminded us that the ecological transition cannot be based solely on the battery-powered electric vehicle.
We already know that, in the years to come,
electricity production will be insufficient to meet all needs and that the price of this energy will increase to approach that of fossil fuels.
In this context, the hydrogen vehicle represents a complement that should not be underestimated.
It has its place in the decarbonization of road transport.
Tom Kirkpatrick/Tom Kirkpatrick/BMW AG
