You gained’t discover a check automobile like this in your doorstep on daily basis: It’s a white BMW X5, of which – admittedly extra generally in gray, silver or black – 1000’s are on the street in Germany. Nevertheless, a couple of blue accents, typical of the BMW i electrical subsidiary, and above all, the eye-catching foiling emphasise that this isn’t a typical X5 with a six-cylinder diesel or plug-in hybrid.
First issues first: this isn’t an in depth evaluation of how sustainable the drive idea is over its life cycle and the way gas cell automobile’s ‘well-to-wheel’ emissions examine to a battery-electric automobile. That will transcend the scope of a driving report. Subsequently, the main focus right here is on driving expertise. How will you journey with a gas cell automobile in Germany at present with the present infrastructure, what does it price, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the idea and the iX5 Hydrogen from the client’s perspective? After greater than 800 kilometres within the automobile, we got here to a conclusion.
The construction of the automobile is straightforward: the gas cell stack is positioned underneath the bonnet within the ‘engine compartment’ and depends on elements from Toyota. The Japanese firm provides the cells, whereas the stack and the general system had been developed in-house by BMW – by the way, the automated analysis facility for manufacturing the gas cell stacks was supported by an additional grant from the German authorities. The bigger of the 2 hydrogen tanks sits lengthways within the cardan tunnel, whereas the smaller tank sits transversely underneath the rear seat – collectively, they maintain a most of six kilograms of hydrogen. The electrical motor, which utilises BMW’s ‘fifth era’ know-how, i.e. the individually excited synchronous motors additionally used within the iX, i4 and i7, is positioned on the rear axle. The battery, which serves as an influence buffer, is positioned between the electrical motor and the boot ground.
How does a five-million-euro prototype drive?
The gas cell has an output of 125 kW, adequate to cowl the vitality requirement when travelling at a relentless pace. Within the occasion of temporary energy peaks, extra energy is drawn from the battery, which is continually recharged by the gas cell with out the motive force noticing. BMW has opted for an electrical motor with an output of 295 kW – in spite of everything, the iX5 Hydrogen ought to nonetheless drive as dynamically as clients anticipate from a BMW. With an acceleration of lower than six seconds to 100 kph, it might probably nonetheless fulfil this declare, however die-hard BMW followers could disagree, contemplating its prime pace of 180 kph.
However how does a five-million-euro prototype drive? Truthfully, it’s surprisingly easy and really mature for technically being a ‘prototype.’ Step on the brakes, press the beginning button, choose a gear like an computerized and off you go: quiet, comfy, and highly effective on request, with the equal of 401 hp. Whilst you might nonetheless hear the gas cell hissing quietly underneath full load within the first-generation Toyota Mirai, for instance, the BMW is as quiet as a battery electrical automobile. The additional improvement of the know-how may be felt.
I’ve by no means doubted that BMW would ship a cleanly developed and well-tuned automobile with the iX5 Hydrogen. The German carmaker has been cooperating with Toyota on hydrogen know-how since 2013 and has already trialled gas cell prototypes primarily based on the 5 Sequence GT earlier than the iX5 Hydrogen. BMW has much more expertise with hydrogen, at the moment nonetheless for combustion engines. And the battery-electric collection fashions have lengthy since confirmed that the builders can tune electrical drives. The iX5 Hydrogen features exceptionally nicely. The prototype is barely noticeable within the particulars. Within the gas consumption indicators on the shows, the illustration “kgH2/100km” with out areas appears to be like a bit bizarre; in spite of everything, diesel or petrol isn’t added within the case of combustion engines. And there may be drive error messages, particularly after a heat begin or refuelling – however BMW identified within the run-up to the check drive that we are able to ignore these.
Nevertheless, the decisive side for (potential) clients is the infrastructure – much like the early days of battery-electric mobility. The place do I get the hydrogen? What does it seem like on lengthy journeys if you depart the radius of motion round your acquainted petrol station close to house? And what concerning the vary on the whole?
That’s why we set off with the iX5 Hydrogen, overlaying 800 kilometres of motorway and nation roads. At first in Düsseldorf, the gas stage was round 80 per cent, in response to the onboard pc, and the displayed vary was 357 kilometres – BMW has opted for a combustion engine-like gas gauge and never a share show as is commonly present in battery electrical automobiles. The primary, admittedly conservatively deliberate refuelling cease passed off in Limburg an der Lahn. The subsequent refuelling station was in Wiesbaden, which might have meant a slight diversion from the initially deliberate tour – and if (for no matter motive) the refuelling course of didn’t work, the diversions to Frankfurt would have been even longer. If it doesn’t work out in Limburg, Wiesbaden could be plan B – that was the considering. I didn’t need to go straight to the restrict on the first hydrogen refuelling cease in a couple of years. Simply because the battery newcomers don’t often drive to the charging station for the primary time with a single-digit remaining vary.
There have been no main hurdles when refuelling in Limburg. Though the consumer expertise may very well be improved (you first should authorise cost at a terminal on the far proper of the image utilizing the H2 Mobility card and a PIN, then join the gas nozzle to the automobile after which begin the refuelling course of on the terminal through a inexperienced button), the refuelling itself went easily. After 5 minutes and ten seconds, the tank was full once more – in the beginning, it was nonetheless roughly 35 per cent full. We are going to come again to the prices of the refuelling processes later in an general calculation.
But it surely additionally confirmed that the short five-minute refuelling course of was not an actual benefit right here. In any case, there was no time to go to the bathroom or purchase a espresso whereas refuelling. So, as with the combustion engine: first refuel, then re-park and take a break. The time from leaving the motorway to getting again on was much like that of a contemporary electrical automobile. After all, the break was shorter than with an older electrical automobile with a charging time of 30 or 40 minutes, however EVs have made important progress on this space in the previous few years.
With a BEV, a second cease wouldn’t be crucial
With a full tank and a spread of 429 kilometres on the on-board pc show, we set off on the following stage. And right here – as with battery electrical automobiles eight years in the past – issues acquired slightly difficult. Even when the true vary was barely lower than the onboard pc indicated, we’d have reached our vacation spot with 429 kilometres, albeit with a reasonably empty tank. Nevertheless, there isn’t any H2 refuelling station out there near our vacation spot, so we needed to plan a second “security” refuelling cease on the outward journey to be able to have sufficient hydrogen for the primary leg of the return journey. In contrast to the battery electrical automobile, the iX5 Hydrogen with the gas cell can’t be charged on the vacation spot, both through a socket or wall field charging station.
The iX5 Hydrogen requires some handbook planning, which might be extra attributable to its prototype standing. The H2 Mobility app is built-in into the infotainment, which can be utilized to seek out hydrogen filling stations and retrieve some info – together with the handle, which may be immediately transferred to the navigation system as a vacation spot. Nevertheless, the refuelling stations are listed bluntly in response to distance from the present location. So it’s best to know roughly the place there are service stations alongside your route, as a result of the checklist is stuffed with all doable places in each path. For a later manufacturing mannequin, as BMW is aiming for by the tip of the last decade, built-in route planning much like the software program utilized in battery electrical automobiles needs to be doable.
Again to our journey: on this case, the H2 filling station in Dangerous Rappenau was a logical selection, near the motorway on the positioning of a automobile depot. Throughout an preliminary route test within the H2 Mobility smartphone app a couple of days earlier than the journey, there was a slight shock: three consecutive refuelling stations alongside my route (Wiesbaden, Dangerous Rappenau and Fellbach close to Stuttgart) had been offline attributable to upkeep work. On the intense facet, at the least I had freshly serviced fuelling stations for the journey, which labored fairly reliably. If you wish to have a look at it critically, three consecutive refuelling stations being out of service would have left you stranded if I had set off with no plan. Happily, it didn’t come to that.
After simply 182 kilometres, nevertheless, the tank was already nicely emptied once more on arrival – for check functions, we drove slightly quicker than the advisable pace on the motorway at occasions, as many diesel X5s are additionally pushed at over 130 kph on open motorways. Accordingly, after refuelling in Dangerous Rappenau, the onboard pc solely confirmed 314 kilometres of vary, given the newest common consumption. By the way, I saved time throughout this refuelling course of in comparison with the battery electrical automobile – refuelling and getting again on the street took lower than ten minutes, together with some ready time on the visitors gentle. However you too can have a look at it one other means: Since I might have charged an electrical automobile at my vacation spot, this refuelling/charging cease wouldn’t have been crucial as a result of I might have arrived with zero kilometres of vary remaining. So, one other ten minutes misplaced.
However one factor is evident: the remaining 75 kilometres to the vacation spot had been no downside with a full tank. The subsequent day, the hydrogen gas from Dangerous Rappenau lasted all the way in which to the station in Limburg – a complete of 330 kilometres. The 255 kilometres again to Limburg had been particularly economical. The consumption indicator for this part was 1.3 kilograms of hydrogen per 100 kilometres.
To finish the check, we deliberate a closing refuelling session in Ratingen shortly earlier than the vacation spot in Düsseldorf. Whereas the stations in Limburg and Dangerous Rappenau are designed as stand-alone hydrogen refuelling stations, the pump in Ratingen is built-in into an present Shell filling station. The fuelling course of is barely totally different right here, as there may be additionally a rotating gas gauge with a traditional nine-segment show. Nevertheless, the refuelling itself went equally easily. And we didn’t have to attend at any of the refuelling stops or had one other gas cell automobile immediately in entrance of us – which could have resulted in a brief wait till the filling station had added sufficient hydrogen.
The gas consumption chapter will observe shortly, however this a lot can already be revealed: After the 157-kilometre stage, we refuelled with 3.01 kilograms of hydrogen for 50.42 euros. If we had travelled this distance with a Tesla Mannequin X of comparable dimension, the prices – calculated utilizing the common consumption of 26.8 kWh/100 km – would have price us round 15 euros on the Supercharger somewhat than 50 euros.
We observed appreciable variations in consumption and vary in the course of the check relying on the pace. With a relaxed motorway driving fashion at 130 kph or the relevant pace restrict, it was between 1.3 and 1.4 kg/100 km. In essentially the most economical case, we had a spread of 492 kilometres in response to the show after refuelling to 100 per cent. Nevertheless, for those who improve the cruising pace with the iX5 Hydrogen and drive on the pace of a diesel X5 on open motorways, the onboard pc solely indicated a spread of 314 kilometres after refuelling. Consumption was then extra within the vary of 1.8 to 1.9 kilograms – and with a most of six kilograms within the tank, 300 kilometres is a practical vary. In apply, even rather less if you wish to keep away from rolling as much as the petrol pump with an empty tank.
No giant vary reserves
Throughout our check, the onboard pc confirmed a mean gas consumption of 1.4 kilograms over 855 kilometres – a calculated vary of 429 kilometres for a full tank. The BMW signifies a gas consumption ex works of 1.6 kilogrammes over 13,891 kilometres, decreasing the vary to 375 kilometres. Round 400 kilometres on common, nearly 500 with a cost-effective driving fashion and extra like 300 with a sporty driving fashion – these are figures {that a} battery-electric BMW iX xDrive50 may obtain. Thus, We couldn’t grasp this superior vary of gas cell automobiles; in truth, the iX5 Hydrogen is corresponding to its BEV opponents. Nevertheless, that additionally means there aren’t any giant reserves, for instance, for energy-intensive operations like towing a trailer. A trailer load was not registered for the prototype anyway, however that would change for a collection mannequin.
As described above, we’d hardly have been any slower with an iX xDrive50 on our check route; the time benefit of the shorter refuelling course of isn’t so important on lengthy journeys. Nevertheless, with an iX – much like the Mannequin X – we’d have been considerably cheaper when it comes to vitality prices, because the invoice exhibits.
For the primary refuelling in Limburg, we paid 49.55 euros for 3.52 kg. In Dangerous Rappenau, we crammed up with 4.06 kg for 72.07 euros. It was the one refuelling course of for 17.75 euros per kilogramme. On the different stations, it was 16.75 euros. On the way in which again, we refuelled once more in Limburg, this time 4.56 kg for 76.38 euros. After which once more in Ratingen. Right here, it was the above-mentioned 3.01 kilogrammes for 50.42 euros.
BMW iX xDrive50 would hardly be slower, however cheaper
That makes a complete of 248.42 euros in refuelling prices. The conversion to the 855 kilometres pushed by us isn’t doable as a result of the automobile was not crammed as much as 100 per cent in the beginning of the route. So we use the common consumption: with our check consumption of 1.4 kg/100 km, it will be 23.45 euros per 100 kilometres or 200.50 euros for 855 kilometres. With the ex-works consumption of 1.6 kg/100 km, it’s 26.80 euros per 100 kilometres or 229.14 euros for our check route, if we take the price of 16.75 euros per kilogram as the idea, which is the extra typical worth for hydrogen at 700 bar.
For comparability, in response to spritmonitor.de, the BMW iX averages 23.7 kWh/100km (at increased speeds, consumption of round 30 kWh/100km can be doable, no query). With 24 kWh/100km, even with the ad-hoc worth from Ionity, the price per 100 kilometres is barely 16.56 euros – or 144.59 euros for our check route. With the ‘Ionity Passport Energy,’ it will be 9.36 euros per 100 kilometres and 92.01 euros in vitality prices – whereby this quantity already contains the 11.99 euro month-to-month price. With out the price, you get 4.78 kilograms of hydrogen for 80.02 euros – which is sufficient for 341 kilometres with our check consumption. And never 855 kilometres.
By the way, the supposed benefit of gas cell automobiles being lighter than heavy battery electrical automobiles doesn’t apply to the iX5 Hydrogen. The automobile registration doc states a kerb weight of two,570 kilograms and a permissible gross weight of three,150 kilograms. It stays to be seen what the optimisation potential could be if a automobile had been constantly designed as an FCEV from the outset and the elements weren’t all put in in a combustion engine. What is evident, nevertheless, is that with a kerb weight of two,585 kilograms and a gross automobile weight of three,145 kilograms, an iX xDrive50 is on the identical stage, aside from a couple of kilograms. So, as with the sensible vary, you might say that the battery can already do what the gas cell guarantees.
Conclusion
To reply the query posed within the headline: I’m not sufficiently satisfied by the iX5 Hydrogen to see a future for hydrogen automobiles in Germany and Europe (and, actually, in the remainder of the world). There are additionally issues within the automobile, for instance, with the house required for the numerous elements. With the present and considerably extra superior know-how, I don’t see a small and inexpensive gas cell automobile, as is presently referred to as for in battery electrical automobiles. There must be big leaps in effectivity. Till then, gas cell automobiles will stay as giant and heavy because the BMW. The know-how merely requires plenty of house. It really works however isn’t appropriate for mass manufacturing. And additionally it is costly.
Two factors specifically don’t persuade me concerning the hydrogen ecosystem in automobiles: the refuelling know-how and the infrastructure. It’s clear from the fundamental legal guidelines of physics what number of kilograms of hydrogen may be saved per cubic centimetre at a particular temperature and a sure stress (in our case, 700 bar). Within the iX5, the 2 pressurised tanks take up an unlimited quantity of house. Additional improvement of the tanks would maybe make them considerably cheaper and lighter – however there may be nothing to be finished about their dimension at 700 bar stress. The tank needs to be larger if I need to retailer extra hydrogen in a automobile to extend the vary. A better vitality density is feasible with a better stress, for instance, however this places extra stress on the tanks and requires a wholly new infrastructure. Or switching to a special sort of storage, equivalent to -253 diploma chilly liquid hydrogen (sLH2), as favoured by Daimler Truck for its gas cell truck. However that additionally requires a brand new infrastructure and poses additional challenges – particularly in non-public automobiles.
Then there may be the infrastructure itself. The hydrogen refuelling stations are advanced, maintenance-intensive and costly (even in comparison with an HPC park together with a transformer). On the finish of 2023, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse mentioned that gas cell know-how was “the lacking puzzle” in areas with inadequate charging infrastructure for electrical automobiles. And his current go to to China and Japan “strengthened” his evaluation. I additionally see the problem of immediately electrifying automobiles, vans and buses within the booming mega-cities of some creating nations with already overstretched energy grids – or the merely crucial automobiles in distant areas of China or, for instance, in villages within the Peruvian Andes. Nevertheless, I ponder whether the advanced gas cell and hydrogen refuelling station know-how in these areas will present the answer when, even in Germany, the refuelling stations are generally offline for a number of days for upkeep work.
It is usually clear that the automobiles are hardly marketable on the present price stage. Toyota nearly admitted in November 2023 that the Mirai was something however a industrial success. Solely 22,000 automobiles have been bought worldwide since 2014, which is unlikely to have lined the event prices for 2 generations of the automobile. The present hydrogen costs in Germany – and even in California, the place they’ve just lately risen to 30 {dollars} per kilogramme – should not precisely an commercial for gas cell automobiles. The German carmaker has but to disclose how costly and the way giant a doable BMW collection automobile with a gas cell may very well be.