BERLIN — BMW goals to carry its first hydrogen-powered automobile onto the market in 2028, utilizing gas cell expertise developed with Toyota Motor Corp, the German carmaker mentioned on Thursday.
The corporate mentioned the automobile can be an current mannequin with a hydrogen gas cell drive possibility, with out giving additional particulars. It additionally didn’t give particulars on worth or manufacturing quantity.
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse mentioned in an announcement the automobile would “spotlight how technological progress is shaping the mobility of the longer term”.
Its partnership with Toyota will enable the teams to chop prices and to develop a passenger automotive drive unit whose expertise can even have purposes for business autos, they mentioned.
BMW is by far the strongest proponent of hydrogen expertise amongst German carmakers, and has been testing a hydrogen passenger automobile, the iX5 Hydrogen, with a variety of 500 km (310 miles) and a capability to refuel in three to 4 minutes.
The group is growing gas cell automobile prototypes alongside battery ones to hedge its bets relying on which “inexperienced” expertise turns into dominant.
A gas cell automobile makes use of an electrical motor like an EV, however attracts energy from a gas stack the place hydrogen is separated by a catalyst to supply electrical energy.
Hydrogen-powered autos can refuel rapidly and have an extended vary, however few carmakers have invested within the expertise due to excessive prices and a restricted community of fueling stations.
BMW mentioned it assumed hydrogen charging infrastructure would have developed considerably by 2028 to accommodate its plans.