BMW iX5 Hydrogen: Production of car with fuel cell begins

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For decades, research into the fuel cell, which runs on hydrogen, has been more or less intensive. Despite some efforts, it was never used in more than a tiny number of passenger cars. Now BMW, with the help of Toyota, is making a new attempt to help this drive system achieve a breakthrough on a broad front. Initially, only a small series is planned. Production of the BMW iX5 Hydrogen starts on Wednesday in Garching near Munich. Many questions remain unanswered.

Hydrogen: fuel cell or combustion engine

In the past, hydrogen as an energy carrier in passenger cars was a two-pronged approach. BMW had several test vehicles that used H2 in the combustion engine. In 2006, this research was greatly reduced because no solution to two problems became apparent: storing hydrogen was costly and the efficiency of the entire chain was poor. Toyota and Hyundai therefore took a different approach in their models. They turned hydrogen into electricity in a fuel cell, which is then stored in a traction battery. This is then used by the electric motor that drives the car.Diesen Weg gehen viele, die dem brennstoffzellen-elektrischen Antrieb im Pkw eine Chance geben wollen, allerdings nicht alle. Unter anderem Porsche, Mazda, Subaru, Kawasaki und Yamaha arbeiten daran, Wasserstoff im Verbrennungsmotor direkt zu verarbeiten.

Small series of almost 100 vehicles

With the small series of just under 100 units, BMW wants to gain experience and keep open the possibility of selling such cars in large numbers. China wants to have one million hydrogen cars on the road by 2030, Japan and Korea also see potential. "We are already thinking about a possible next generation," BMW CEO Oliver Zipse had said when presenting the half-year results at the beginning of August. BMW is also certain that the battery-electric drive will dominate in the future.

Nevertheless, the company does not want to put all its eggs in one basket. By 2030, half of all BMWs delivered will have a battery-electric drive. In Munich, on the other hand, they argue in favour of hydrogen, saying that in view of the shortage of raw materials and insufficient charging networks for electric cars, hydrogen is "the missing piece of the puzzle that can complete e-mobility where battery-electric drives will not prevail".

BMW is having Toyota supply the fuel cells for its iX5 Hydrogen. These will be assembled in Garching and from the end of the year in Munich with the hydrogen tanks and the in-house electric motors in the bodies, which will be delivered from the SUV plant in Spartanburg in the USA. The small series consisting of less than 100 vehicles will not be sold or leased, but will be tested by drivers in everyday life in Europe, the USA, Japan, Korea and China.

The iX5 Hydrogen stores hydrogen at 700 bar in two tanks. The fuel cell has an output of 125 kW. The system power is 275 kW, which can of course only be fully accessed until the supply in the small traction battery is exhausted.

Conceivable only with green hydrogen

It is undisputed that hydrogen only has a chance as an energy carrier in cars if it is produced from renewable sources. That is currently the absolute exception worldwide. Green hydrogen is also in great demand, and demand is increasing. Industry and also the power grid, where H2 could serve as a storage medium, are future customers. Individual motorised transport will have to take a back seat. Because there is a much more efficient way to power cars with the battery-electric drive.

Costs for H2 filling stations "more than compensate"

For the consultancy McKinsey and the hydrogen association Hydrogen Council, too, the battery car is the measure of things, "crucial for decarbonisation and a mainstream solution". But if 10 per cent of the car fleet were to run on hydrogen, "that could save high investments for peaks in the power and charging network" and "more than offset" the cost of hydrogen refuelling stations. For drivers, the hydrogen car offers advantages in everyday life that are familiar from petrol or diesel, Zipse argues: fast refuelling and long ranges, even in cold weather. As head of the group, however, Zipse also asks himself "how Europe intends to secure strategic access to the crucial raw materials for e-mobility". New dependencies are threatening.

"Does not help over the cliffs of the next few years".

Stefan Bratzel, head of the CAM-Autoinstitut in Bergisch Gladbach, is sceptical about hydrogen cars. A quick ramp-up is not feasible, "we are talking about long periods of time. That won't help us over the cliffs of the next few years," he said. "It is already a costly business". For Bratzel, the most important argument against hydrogen cars is "the high energy input for the production of hydrogen". On the way from electricity to hydrogen and back to electricity, a large part of the energy is lost. It is true that hydrogen is well suited as a storage medium for surplus electricity and can also be transported over long distances, "that is of course an advantage". But "you also have to keep an eye on the costs," said Bratzel. The problems are similar to those faced by eFuels.

Another argument against hydrogen is the infrastructure. In Germany, for example, there are currently only about 100 hydrogen filling stations, which are nowhere near the reliability of normal petrol and diesel filling stations. For trucks, however, a dense network of H2 filling stations has to be built anyway. Daimler is developing fuel cells with Volvo and wants to bring the trucks to market in 2025. Opel has the fuel cell transporter Vivaro-e Hydrogen on offer for commercial customers. But if cars are also to fill up with hydrogen, the network would have to become much denser, "which is already very expensive", said Bratzel.

However, electric cars with batteries should remain cheaper for small cars and in the middle class than with fuel cells, says Bratzel. Former Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess once described hydrogen as the champagne of the energy transition. But there is also a market for champagne. Zipse is convinced that there will be "a market for fuel cell cars in the premium segment in Europe as well".

(mfz)