When we look at the future of the automotive industry, we can see great change coming our way. The world is changing fast, and using renewable energy to power our homes, and drive our cars, is becoming more and more attractive and necessary to tackle global climate change. For cars, that has largely meant a switch to electric vehicles, which are seen by many as the future of the automotive industry. However, there is one particular way of powering cars that seems to have been forgotten, and that is hydrogen. This is despite it potentially being better than electric as a means of propulsion.
Manufacturers such as Toyota and Hyundai have invested quite heavily in hybrid technology. The former has been especially successful, but more companies are now starting to seriously look at hydrogen as an alternative to electric power. One of those is BMW, which have been out testing their BMW i Hydrogen NEXT concept ahead of what appears to be a 2022 debut for the car. But what exactly do we know about this new BMW, and how good could it be? Well, here is everything we know about this latest hydrogen concept.
The Basic Details
The concept was seen back in 2019 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and whilst it is a BMW on the outside, internally it actually carries a Toyota fuel-cell stack, presumably developed from that of the Mirai, which is paired to fifth-generation electric-motor technology from BMWs electric cars. The power output for the car is estimated to be somewhere in the region of 274 hp, which is the combined output for both the electric motor and the hydrogen fuel cell. This, according to BMW, brings the car in line with the most powerful gasoline inline-six engine from the company that is not part of the M performance lineup.
Whilst there has been nothing official to state what the new car will be called when its production run starts or what kind of vehicle it is, it looks almost certain that the car will become some form of hydrogen SUV. Part of the testing that the car is now going through is to see how the car handles everyday conditions on European roads and to see how all the technologies that have been packed into the car work under real-world conditions. This could possibly determine just how many cars BMW produces when they put the concept into production in 2022.
A Big Step For BMW
This is a big step for BMW, which so far has seen quite committed to the EV cause, but hydrogen is certainly something worth exploring for all manufacturers. Amazingly, in a press release from the previous week (June 16th, 2021), BMW actually states that hydrogen might have better long-term potential than electric cars. They word it as it will “supplement” electric and hybrid vehicles, but the reality is it could supersede it. For one, it could be easier to sort out the refueling infrastructure. Hydrogen filling pumps can be installed at pretty much any gas station, and one day the gas pumps could just be replaced with hydrogen pumps.
Also, the tricky subject of disposing of the fuel cell will be much easier than trying to dispose of a lithium-ion battery from an EV. BMW has really given little away from their testing and development of the concept, save for the fact it is based upon the current-generation BMW X5, but we do know that it will only be produced in small numbers when that production run does start. By then, there is of course the chance BMW will be using their own hydrogen fuel-cells, rather than simply making use of Toyota’s product.
End Goal For The Concept
The end goal according to BMW is simply to make sure the X5 architecture works well with the new hydrogen components, and that they play along nicely together. This could be seen then as a sign that BMW simply aims to use, in effect, BMW X5 chassis and bodies to make this concept a production reality, but of course, we will have to wait and see on that front. It then remains to be seen just how well the concept sells, and what the infrastructure for hydrogen is like in Europe. Whilst it is better than that in the United States, it is still somewhat behind the electric charging network, which itself is not as widespread as it should be. But the potential benefits, such as greater range over EVs, could be pretty huge.
Is It The Future?
This is the big question that no doubt everyone will be asking. Is BMW’s newest concept the future, both for the company and of course the automotive industry? In short, we don’t really know right now. It seems that manufacturers are going all-in with EVs, but that could one day prove to be a dead-end road, with hydrogen taking us on a freeway route to the future. And the hydrogen concept certainly has plenty of benefits and advantages over EVs and even hybrid cars. It will be fascinating to watch the continued development of the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT and see just how far it has come when it finally goes into production in 2022.
Source: BMW