Hydrogen power not intended to replace electric cars – BMW

06/24/2024 08:10 PM

Hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are not designed to replace the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) – and the two technologies are aimed to co-exist – according to BMW.

A number of the world’s top-selling car makers have dismissed hydrogen fuel cells as a feasible production type for future production cars, in favour of going all-in on electric power for all types of vehicles.

However BMW believes battery-electric and hydrogen cars can be sold alongside each other – investing heavily in developing both technologies – as they will appeal to different buyers, and better suit distinct vehicle types.

It does not currently sell a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle to the public, though it is conducting a trial of the technology with a view to commercialising it by the end of the decade – following the likes of Toyota and Hyundai overseas.

“We don’t see it as a competition between the two technologies,” Dr Juergen Guldner, general manager of hydrogen technology for the BMW Group, told Australian media.

“We actually think that the technologies compliment each other and can help each other because they fulfil different needs of people. When you want to change the behaviour of people … the best thing is to offer options.”

The German car giant says battery-electric power is best suited to smaller passenger vehicles, and urban transport – which do not need to cover long distance on a regular basis, or tow heavy loads.

Meanwhile hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles – which can be refilled in three to four minutes – are better off comprising utes, vans and heavy trucks, as well as aircraft and ships.

“No one thinks that gasoline [petrol] and diesel are competing against each other. Different people have different preferences,” Dr Guldner told Drive.

“Some people like white chocolate and some people like dark chocolate. Why say you can only use one, or should only focus on white chocolate when some people like the taste of dark chocolate?

“What we all want is to decarbonise, and basically save our planet.”

Dr Guldner said hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles will suit buyers who cannot charge an electric car overnight at home, need to travel long distances on short notice, or who tow regularly.

Fuel-cell vehicles (or FCEVs) are refuelled with hydrogen, and use a chemical reaction to produce electricity that powers an electric motor – with water the only emission.

FCEVs are promised to drive like electric cars – as they are powered by electric motors, aided by battery packs which store energy recaptured under braking – but with the quick refills of petrol or diesel cars, and a 500-600km real-world driving range.

The BMW executive also cited the impact switching the world’s vehicle fleet to electric will have on energy grids, and said a mix of electric and hydrogen vehicles is the ideal solution.

He cited a study by global consulting firm McKinsey & Company – commissioned by the European Union – that showed an investment of €1.56 billion would be required by 2050 to support every vehicle on the road in Europe going electric.

However if 15 per cent of the light-duty vehicle fleet, and 41 per cent of heavy vehicles are hydrogen fuel-cell powered, the cost to build the infrastructure would not increase, but rather decrease by 21 per cent, the study estimates.

“Two infrastructures are cheaper than one, because electric charging infrastructure costs more and more the more you build, that is because you have to upgrade the grid,” he said.

Dr Guldner said that in addition to serving larger, long-distance vehicles, hydrogen fuel-cell technology is a backup option in case battery technology does not improve as quickly as planned.

“We think that having a second technology option is a good thing to have in case the battery technology development does not go as we all want that it goes,” he said.

“There [are] too many uncertainties around that. Starting from raw materials, charging times, chargers that then have to sustain, at scale, the fast charging.”

He said: “Also, the cost with batteries. Of course, we are working as BMW on technology for batteries … but since it’s so hard to predict that all of those things will fall into place, we think having a second technology is a good thing.”

However the executive acknowledged infrastructure is the bottleneck preventing a broader roll-out of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

“It is infrastructure … but what we learned in the last five years … is that you can’t expect infrastructure to be built and then not used. That doesn’t make sense.

“So I think the way things will go is that local ecosystems will evolve in an organic way, where you have infrastructure plus users, be it captive fleets, commercial fleets, as a starting point – and then private use cars will tag onto that evolving infrastructure.

“You’ll always have the early adopters, the people who are interested in the technology, they’ll be the first ones. They might be willing to drive a little bit further to a fueling station. And then it goes from there.

“But that tipping point, we think, is within the next five [or] six years, I think. And it’s not going to be a tipping point in the sense that, ‘Oh, it’s bad today and tomorrow it’s good.’ It’s a slow process.”

He said governments can also do “little things” to support the roll-out – such as free parking or tolls for hydrogen vehicles – or streamling the approval process for new hydrogen refilling stations.

The BMW executive was in Australia for a local preview drive of the iX5 Hydrogen, a fuel-cell-powered prototype being trialled by the German car giant to test and develop hydrogen technology.

It is powered by a 125kW fuel cell shared with Toyota – as part of a partnership between the car giants – and an additional 170kW ‘power boost’ battery pack for 500-600km of driving range, and hot hatch-like claimed performance.

There are no hydrogen fuel-cell cars on sale to the public in Australia, though the Hyundai Nexo and Toyota Mirai have been sold to select business as part of a trial.

Dr Guldner said BMW has not decided whether to proceed to production with hydrogen fuel-cell technology, but if it does so, its first models could be in showrooms in the second half of the decade.

“From an engineering point of view, we are preparing to be able to do it still in this decade, and then a potential rollout would be in the 2030s,” he said.

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