Automobile manufacturer BMW believes that hydrogen is an option to be explored in the automotive vehicle market. In 2019, the company introduced the X5, BMW’s first hydrogen-powered SUV powered by Toyota. According to BMW Sales Director Peter Noth, BMW to start mass production of hydrogen cars in 2025.

The first prototype of the iX5 hydrogen SUV should hit the market in 2023. The previous forecast was for 2022, but the current global situation has led to the postponement of the company’s plans. The BMW iX5 is being developed jointly with the manufacturer Toyota and will be the result of the efforts of both companies. A patent discovered by CarBuzz indicates that in addition to the car project, BMW is developing new hydrogen storage system different from the traditional T-model.

BMW head of sales Peter Nota believes that hydrogen fuel cells will be important in the future. “We have a number of joint projects with Toyota. We understand that hydrogen fuel cells are especially important for large SUVs.”. According to Nota, BMW is looking to diversify its investments and is not looking to bet solely on electric vehicles as the future of the sector.

The main advantage of a hydrogen-powered car is the ability to refuel quickly, which could theoretically take three to four minutes to fully charge. Still the manufacturer did not disclose the autonomy of the iX5but the car has two 5.8 kg tanks, which would be enough for long trips.

BMW patent for hydrogen tanks

The patent registered by BMW indicates a different tank configuration. AT In the case of the iX5, we have a “T” layout running along the bottom of the car.. The document published last Wednesday (11) describes a peculiar configuration with several small tanks arranged in parallel under the car.

The main disadvantage of this type of configuration would be the high risk of accidents after impact. To solve this problem, BMW is exploring the possibility of placing the hydrogen tanks in a floating grid, allowing the tanks to move independently. The document indicates the possibility of protecting the system in the event of low-powered collisions. In addition, such an arrangement would save a lot of space in the rear and front of the car, which is a serious problem for CNG vehicles these days.

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Source: Karbuz

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