The BMW iX5 Hydrogen, being constructed at a pilot plant in BMW Group’s Analysis and Innovation Centre in Munich, delivers 374 hp and greater than 300 miles of vary primarily based on European take a look at cycles. An onboard gas cell system combines liquid hydrogen with oxygen to generate electrical energy, which powers an electrical motor.
The corporate’s gas cell know-how push comes as governments try and ban autos with combustion engines.
In nations “all all over the world, combustion engines can be prohibited,” Hofmann mentioned. “We can’t promote them, 2030s onwards.”
However the actuality of hydrogen-powered automobiles cruising down the freeway is much from assured.
Hofmann pointed to the “chicken-egg downside.”
“You want an infrastructure on the one facet and product on the opposite facet,” he mentioned.
Hydrogen refueling infrastructure is minuscule, a major obstacle to the know-how’s adoption. There are 48,148 electric-vehicle charging stations in the USA, based on November 2022 figures from the Vitality Division’s Various Fuels Information Heart. In the meantime, there are simply 54 public hydrogen fueling stations.
It’s small surprise that the passenger-car market’s solely two gas cell fashions will not be gross sales blockbusters.
In Japan, the place Toyota launched the Mirai in 2014, the cumulative quantity of gas cell passenger automobiles numbers roughly 4,200 bought, based on an October 2022 report from consulting agency Work together Evaluation. In South Korea, gross sales of gas cell passenger automobiles such because the Hyundai Nexo tallied about 8,500 in 2021.