Hydrogen: new pictures of the BMW i Hydrogen Next X5!

The development of CO₂-free forms of drive have high priority at the BMW Group. In the course of increasing e-mobility, hydrogen vehicles can also play an important role and become another option in the long term. Like electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles have an electric drive. However, they do not get the energy they need from high-voltage batteries, but instead produce it directly on board from hydrogen. The use of innovative hydrogen technology can thus help to drive decarbonization further.

BMW i Hydrogen Next X5

The Landshut Lightweight Construction and Technology Center (LuTZ) plays an important role in this, as it will manufacture essential hydrogen drive components for the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT from 2022 and provide them for the further assembly of the fuel cell system in Munich. Bavaria's Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger and BMW Group board member Dr. Andreas Wendt as part of a "Hydrogen Technology Day".

“I am convinced that hydrogen technology will prevail. And I am committed to making Bavaria a high-tech location for hydrogen technology. This is a constructive answer to the climate debate, ”said Hubert Aiwanger, Deputy Prime Minister of Bavaria and State Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, on the occasion of the visit to the Lower Bavarian components plant in Landshut. "Now it is a matter of building the hydrogen infrastructure nationally and internationally in a targeted manner, from production to application."

"Here in our lightweight construction and technology center, decisive innovations for the mobility of the future are created," said Dr. Andreas Wendt, Board Member of BMW AG for Purchasing and Supplier Network. “Here we develop highly complex components that are tailored to the requirements of our automobiles. The location is making a significant contribution to the company's transformation towards e-mobility. Our in-house component production in Landshut plays the role of an innovation driver more than ever. "

Second generation of the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT in small series from the end of 2022

Hydrogen-electric vehicles produce the required electrical energy directly on board from hydrogen and offer a number of advantages. They are best suited for customers who frequently drive long distances, who need a high level of flexibility or who do not have regular access to electrical charging infrastructure. Refueling takes just a few minutes, similar to conventional fuels. Vehicles powered by regeneratively produced hydrogen can make a significant contribution to achieving the climate goals.

With the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT, the BMW Group will be piloting a small series based on the current BMW X2022 from 5, which is equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell electric drive and thus only emits water vapor. The BMW Group uses its experience from the fifth generation of electric drives to develop the vehicle.

The prerequisites are not yet in place to be able to offer BMW Group customers a hydrogen vehicle. In particular, with the infrastructure for hydrogen refueling, as well as with the prerequisites in the entire energy system, in which green hydrogen must be produced in relevant quantities and at competitive prices for individual mobility, further commitment is necessary.

In Germany, the EU and other important world regions, politicians have recognized the importance of green hydrogen for the energy system of the future. With the “Green Deal”, the European Union has focused on hydrogen technology. The BMW Group welcomes these activities. Important Asian markets such as Japan, Korea and China are also showing great interest in building an infrastructure for hydrogen vehicles. The framework conditions for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will accordingly develop differently around the world.

Highly innovative components from Landshut for the fuel cell system

Preparations are already underway in Landshut for the fuel cell system of the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT from 2022. For the small series, the Lower Bavarian production site will manufacture highly innovative components for fuel cell assembly: the so-called stack housing made of light metal, in which the fuel cells are located, and the media pressure plate. This consists of plastic and light metal castings and serves as an airtight and watertight seal for the stack housing. The “media” hydrogen, oxygen and coolant are fed into the housing through the media pressure plate in order to initiate the chemical reaction in the fuel cells. The complex components are specifically designed for permanent contact with hydrogen.

“With the lightweight construction and technology center here on site, we have a real advantage over our competitors. We have innovation and industrialization competence, can develop strategically important innovations ourselves and at the same time reliably assess external partners and suppliers, ”said Dr. Wolfgang Blümlhuber, Purchasing and Supplier Network of BMW AG, Head of Technology Driving Dynamics and Light Metal Casting. “In technological transformation, success is not a sure-fire success. Courage, a pioneering spirit and a long-term restructuring of skills have already been part of our secret of success in the past - and our highly qualified employees who are willing to change play a key role in this, ”said Willibald Löw, Chairman of the Works Council at the BMW Group Plant in Landshut.

The fuel cell system of the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT

In the drive train, the fuel cell system of the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT, which is continuously fed with hydrogen from CFRP tanks, generates up to 125 kW of electrical power for the electric motor on the rear axle. The underlying mechanism is a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, the only reaction product of which is water. Two 700 bar tanks, which together hold six kilograms of hydrogen, guarantee long ranges in all weather conditions - with a tank duration of just three to four minutes.

The electric motor of the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT is the highly integrated fifth generation electric drive that was used for the first time in the BMW iX3. The high-voltage battery, which sits above the electric drive, serves as a power buffer and provides additional dynamism when accelerating. The drive system output is a total of 275 kW (374 hp).

Over 40 years of experience with hydrogen technology

The BMW Group has over 40 years of experience with hydrogen technology and more than 20 years in the field of fuel cell technology: The technology and the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT are developed in Munich. The subject of hydrogen is not new for the Landshut location either. As early as 2000, the Landshut plant equipped the BMW Hydrogen 7, the technology carrier with a hydrogen combustion engine at the time, with cast components made from sand casting. "The Landshut plant stands for innovative strength from Lower Bavaria," emphasized the head of the BMW Group site in Landshut, Dr. Stefan Kasperowski. "With the current innovations for alternative, CO₂-free types of drive, the BMW Group is once again making a clear commitment to the location. ”As the BMW Group's largest component plant in the world, the Landshut location has six different technologies and focuses cross-technology advanced development expertise in the lightweight construction and technology center.

In addition, the BMW Group is already using hydrogen fuel cell technology where it makes sense: A fleet of several hundred fuel cell-powered industrial trucks in the logistics of the Spartanburg and Leipzig automobile plants is being gradually expanded.