Production of hydrogen-powered BMW iX5 begins

As part of its ‘Power of Choice’ stance when it comes to power trains of the future, the BMW Group is starting production of a smallseries of the BMW iX5 Hydrogen model. Manufacture is taking place in the pilot plant at its Munich Research and Innovation Center (FIZ).

The hydrogen model has already completed an intensive programme of testing and will now be used as a technology demonstrator for locally carbon-free mobility in selected regions from 2023.

“Hydrogen is a versatile energy source that has a key role to play as we progress towards climate neutrality,” said Frank Weber, member of the board of management of BMW responsible for development.

The hydrogen model has been developed on the platform of the BMW X5.  BMW doesn’t provide technical details but the iX5 is reputed to make around 125kW of power (with 275kW available for short bursts) with a driving range of around 500km.  

An advantage that hydrogen has over a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) is that it takes about three to four minutes to fill up the carbon-fibre hydrogen tanks that store six kilograms of compressed hydrogen in the iX5, while it takes at least an hour to fill a BEV using a high-power DC charger.

At an average price of R170 per kilogram of compressed hydrogen, a refill of the BMW iX5’s six-kilogram hydrogen tanks should cost owners about R1,000.

This will benefit customers for whom short refuelling stops and long ranges are a must, as well as for regions still lacking an adequate charging infrastructure, according to BMW.

“We are certain that hydrogen is set to gain significantly in importance for individual mobility and therefore consider a mixture of battery and fuel cell electric drive systems to be a sensible approach in the long term,” said Weber.

“Fuel cells don’t require any critical raw materials such as cobalt, lithium or nickel either, so by investing in this type of drive system we are also strengthening the geopolitical resilience of the BMW Group,” said Weber.

BMW SA has no plans yet to market hydrogen models locally. However, former Gauteng premier David Makhura led a delegation of heads of economic development and energy and automotive units in the Gauteng government to BMW Group headquarters in Munich in September, where they discussed opportunities in the green hydrogen economy.