(Munich) - After four years of development work, the BMW Group is starting to build a pilot series of the “iX5 Hydrogen” fuel cell car. According to the information, a fleet of a hundred vehicles will initially be produced for test purposes. The first prototypes were already in use, for example at the IAA Mobility 2021.
Toyota supplies fuel cells
Toyota Motor Corporation is supplying the “fuel cell” component for the pilot fleet. BMW then produces the fuel cell systems in the company's own hydrogen competence center in Munich. This is where the chemical reaction takes place between the gaseous hydrogen from the tanks and the oxygen from the ambient air.
Maximum power of the electric drive unit: 295 kW (401 HP); Continuous electrical output of the fuel cell system: 125 kW (170 HP); maximum battery power (Li-ion technology): 170 kW (231 HP); Capacity of the hydrogen tanks: six kilograms; Maximum speed: over 180 km/h; Hydrogen consumption (WLTP): 1,19 kg / 100 km; Range (WLTP): 504 km
According to the company, an even supply of the membrane in the fuel cell with the two media is crucial for high drive efficiency. In addition to technological analogies to the combustion engine such as intercoolers, air filters, control devices and sensors, the engineers have also developed special hydrogen components. These included, for example, the high-speed compressor with turbine or a high-voltage coolant pump.
In the first production step, the individual fuel cells are stacked into a “stack” and then pressed mechanically with five tons of force and provided with a housing. The stack housing is manufactured in the light metal foundry at the BMW Landshut plant using the sand casting process. The media pressure plate, which supplies hydrogen and oxygen to the fuel cell stack and seals the stack housing gas-tight and watertight, is also manufactured in Landshut. During final assembly, additional components such as the compressor, the anode and cathode of the fuel cell system, the high-voltage coolant pump and the wiring harness are added.
Range more than 500 kilometers
The vehicle's drive train delivers a maximum output of 295 kW (401 hp) to the road. During coasting and braking phases, the electric machine also takes on the function of a generator, feeding energy back into a power battery.
The gaseous hydrogen required to supply the fuel cell is stored in two 700 bar tanks made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). Refueling only takes three to four minutes. Together they hold six kilograms of hydrogen, with which the BMW iX5 Hydrogen reportedly achieves a range of 504 kilometers (according to the “Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure”, WLTP).
Fuel cell as a supplement to battery
The BMW Group expressly sees fuel cell technology (FCEV) “as a potential complement to the drive technology of battery-electric vehicles” (BEV). In total, the BMW Group sold more than 2022 BEVs worldwide in 215.000. Their share of total sales was almost nine percent last year. This share is expected to increase to 2023 percent in 15. By 2030 at the latest, BMW wants to achieve more than 50 percent of its sales with fully electric vehicles.
BMW did not provide any information about the possible start of regular series production or the price of the “iX5 Hydrogen”.
Photos
BMW starts pilot series of the hydrogen-powered “iX5 Hydrogen” for test purposes. © BMW Group
