After 4 years of improvement work, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen car and its improvement venture are getting into its important subsequent section as the primary autos enter a pilot fleet of beneath 100 autos.
The fleet is being deployed internationally for demonstration and trial functions. This energetic driving expertise would be the first likelihood for individuals not concerned within the improvement course of to realize a direct impression of what the BMW iX5 Hydrogen has to supply.
“Hydrogen is a flexible vitality supply that has a key position to play within the vitality transition course of and subsequently in local weather safety. In any case, it is without doubt one of the most effective methods of storing and transporting renewable energies”, mentioned Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Administration of BMW AG. “We must always use this potential to additionally speed up the transformation of the mobility sector. Hydrogen is the lacking piece within the jigsaw in relation to emission-free mobility. One know-how by itself won’t be sufficient to allow climate-neutral mobility worldwide.”
The BMW iX5 Hydrogen developed on the idea of the present BMW X5 was first unveiled as an idea on the IAA present in 2019. Preliminary prototypes have been then made out there on the IAA Mobility 2021 for guests to expertise in motion as shuttle autos.
Its hydrogen gas cell system is additional proof of the BMW Group’s main improvement experience within the subject of electrical drive applied sciences. The BMW Group is systematically pushing ahead with improvement of hydrogen gas cell know-how as an extra possibility for domestically emission-free particular person mobility sooner or later.
The BMW Group produces the extremely environment friendly gas cell techniques for the pilot fleet at its in-house competence centre for hydrogen in Munich. This know-how is without doubt one of the core components within the BMW iX5 Hydrogen and generates a excessive steady output of 125 kW/170 hp.
A chemical response takes place within the gas cell between gaseous hydrogen from the tanks and oxygen from the air. Sustaining a gradual provide of each components to the gas cell’s membrane is of essential significance for the drive system’s effectivity. Along with the technological equivalents of options discovered on combustion engines, resembling cost air coolers, air filters, management models and sensors, the BMW Group additionally developed particular hydrogen elements for its new gas cell system. These embrace the high-speed compressor with turbine and high-voltage coolant pump, for example.
The BMW Group sources the person gas cells from the Toyota Motor Company. The 2 corporations have loved a partnership characterised by belief for a few years and have been collaborating on gas cell drive techniques since 2013.
Gasoline cell techniques are manufactured in two essential steps, based mostly on the person gas cells. The cells are first assembled right into a gas cell stack. The following step includes becoming all the opposite elements to provide an entire gas cell system.
Stacking of the gas cells is essentially a completely automated course of. As soon as the person elements have been inspected for any injury, the stack is compressed by machine with a drive of 5 tonnes and positioned in a housing. The stack housing is manufactured within the gentle metallic foundry at BMW Group Plant Landshut utilizing a sand casting approach.
For this, molten aluminium is poured right into a mould produced from compacted sand blended with resin in a course of specifically designed for this small-series car.
The stress plate, which delivers hydrogen and oxygen to the gas cell stack, is produced from solid plastic components and light-alloy castings, additionally from the Landshut plant. The stress plate types a gas-tight and water-tight seal across the stack housing.
Ultimate meeting of the gas cell stacks features a voltage check together with intensive testing of the chemical response inside the cells. Lastly, all of the completely different elements are fitted collectively within the meeting space to provide the whole system.
Throughout this technique meeting stage, additional elements are fitted, such because the compressor, the anode and cathode of the fuel-cell system, the high-voltage coolant pump and the wiring harness.
Together with a extremely built-in drive unit utilizing fifth-generation BMW eDrive know-how (the electrical motor, transmission and energy electronics are grouped collectively in a compact housing) on the rear axle and an influence battery with lithium-ion know-how developed specifically for this car, the powertrain channels most output of 295kW / 401 hp onto the street. In coasting overrun and braking phases, the motor additionally serves as a generator, feeding vitality again into an influence battery.
The BMW iX5 Hydrogen is being constructed within the BMW Group’s pilot plant at its Analysis and Innovation Centre (FIZ) in Munich. That is the interface between improvement and manufacturing the place each new mannequin from the corporate’s manufacturers is made for the primary time. Round 900 individuals work there within the physique store, meeting, mannequin engineering, idea car development and additive manufacturing.
They’re tasked with guaranteeing that each the product and the manufacturing course of are prepared for collection manufacturing. Within the case of the BMW iX5 Hydrogen, specialists in hydrogen know-how, car improvement and preliminary meeting of latest fashions have been working carefully collectively to combine the cutting-edge drive and vitality storage know-how.
The hydrogen wanted to provide the gas cell is saved in two 700-bar tanks manufactured from carbon-fibre bolstered plastic (CFRP). Collectively these maintain nearly six kilograms of hydrogen, sufficient to provide the BMW iX5 Hydrogen a variety of 504 km (313 miles) within the WLTP cycle. Filling up the hydrogen tanks solely takes three to 4 minutes – so the BMW iX5 Hydrogen can even present the driving pleasure for which BMW is famend over lengthy distances, with only a few, brief stops alongside the best way.
Aug 15, 2023