BMW to build hydrogen powertrains in-house

BMW is starting production of hydrogen powertrains, at its plant in Munich, to support a fleet of BMW iX5 Hydrogen test vehicles.

The car maker will build a small fleet of iX5 Hydrogens to be used for global testing and demonstration purposes.

It represents the next stage in BMW’s hydrogen journey, following tests of the X5-based i Hydrogen Next prototype.

Hydrogen is expected to play a part in BMW’s future powertrain strategy and the brand expects to mass-produce hydrogen-powered cars in the future.

“As a versatile energy source, hydrogen has a key role to play on the road to climate neutrality. And it will also gain substantially in importance as far as personal mobility is concerned. We think hydrogen-powered vehicles are ideally placed technologically to fit alongside battery-electric vehicles and complete the electric mobility picture,” said Oliver Zipse, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.

He added: “By commencing small-scale production of fuel cells today, we are demonstrating the technical maturity of this type of drive system and underscoring its potential for the future.”

The fuel cell in the BMW iX5 Hydrogen generates a continuous output of 125kW. It teams up with an electric motor featuring fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology and a high-performance battery purpose developed for the vehicle. The powertrain delivers 374PS. The development team incorporated the drive into the existing BMW X5 platform for the small production run.

BMW Group sources the individual fuel cells required for manufacturing the BMW iX5 Hydrogen from the Toyota Motor Corporation. The two companies have been collaborating on fuel cell drive systems since 2013.

The fleet of BMW iX5 Hydrogen cars is expected to be on the road before the end of the year.

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