While car companies Toyota and Hyundai normally sell their cars on hydrogen, BMW with the iX5 Hydrogen model has again chosen the route of a pilot fleet of approximately 100 units. The cars will be deployed in various countries “for demonstration and testing purposes,” the press release said.
The hydrogen X5 appeared in 2019 as a concept and subsequently drove people at the Munich Motor Show in 2021. Last year, the automaker announced that it wants to start mass production of hydrogen cars by 2025, in cooperation with Toyota.
It also collaborated with this Japanese automaker on the development of the iX5 Hydrogen. It is manufactured in the German Development and Innovation Center, but the individual fuel cells come from Toyota. However, the assembly into sets and assembly of the other components, which results in a finished powertrain, takes place in Germany.
BMW shows iX5 hydrogen SUV during winter testing
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In the fuel cell, hydrogen gas from the tanks reacts with atmospheric oxygen to generate electricity. The continuous power of the cell is 125 kW. The system also includes a lithium-ion battery, the highest output of which is 170 kW. The total maximum power of the drive system, and at the same time the maximum power that the electric motor can drive the rear wheels, is 295 kW, i.e. 401 horsepower.
The hydrogen tanks in the iX5 are made of carbon-reinforced plastic and hold less than 6 kg of this gas. Filling up at a gas station is a matter of 3-4 minutes and the supply should be enough for 504 km according to the WLTP measurement cycle. Consumption should be 1.19 kg H2/100 km, acceleration from zero to 100 km/h in under six seconds and a maximum speed of over 180 km/h.
BMW iX5 hydrogen system
“Hydrogen is a versatile energy source that plays a key role in the energy transformation process, and therefore also in climate protection. After all, it is one of the most efficient ways to store and transport renewable energies,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “We should use this potential to accelerate the transformation of the entire transport sector. When it comes to zero-emission mobility, hydrogen is the missing piece of the puzzle. One technology alone will not be enough to bring about global climate-neutral mobility,” he added.
We currently have one functional hydrogen filling station in the Czech Republic, in Ostrava. Others are to be, for example, in Prague or Litvínov; the one in Prague on Barrandová has been close to opening for many months, but the specific date of operation is still in the stars.
How is hydrogen refueled? The principle is simple, but there is no gas station
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