BMW i Hydrogen NEXT with hydrogen fuel cell electric drive

The development of alternative, CO2-free forms of drive is a high priority at the BMW Group. That is why the company is also pursuing the topic of hydrogen in a technology-open approach. With the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT, the BMW Group will produce a small series in 2022 that is equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell electric drive and thus only emits water vapor. "Landshut's innovative strength is also in this vehicle," says Dr. Stefan Kasperowski, Head of the BMW Group Plant Landshut. The Lower Bavarian production site will supply highly innovative components for the vehicle's fuel cell system. “The complex components are specifically designed for permanent contact with hydrogen,” says the site manager.

BMW i Hydrogen NEXT

The BMW Group is convinced that various alternative forms of drive will exist side by side in the future, as there is no single solution that covers all mobility requirements of customers worldwide. "With future-oriented technologies, as in-house component manufacturing, we play the role of an innovation driver more than ever“, Says Kasperowski. "In technological transformation, success is not a sure-fire success. With our lightweight construction and technology center here on site, we drive the sustainable development of our models through innovations and thereby generate decisive competitive advantages“, Adds Willibald Löw, Chairman of the Works Council of the BMW Group Plant Landshut.

The Landshut plant produces stack housings from light metal

Specifically, the BMW Group plant in Landshut will manufacture the so-called stack housing made of light metal for the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT, in which the fuel cells sit and the media end plate. It 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 through the end plate into the housing in order to initiate the chemical reaction in the fuel cells. The system was developed in the Landshut Lightweight Construction and Technology Center (LuTZ) and is an outstanding example of the cross-technology innovative strength at the Landshut location.

"We have already gained twenty years of research experience with fuel cell systems. This now pays off in the in-house production of essential components“, Says Jürgen Guldner, Head of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology and Vehicle Projects at the BMW Group.

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 energy for the electric motor that sits 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 only three to four minutes.

The fifth generation (Gen5) electric drive, which is being used for the first time in the BMW iX3, is also fully integrated in the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT. The power buffer battery, which sits above the electric motor, provides additional dynamism when accelerating. This brings the total drive power to 275 kW (374 hp). "The subject of hydrogen is not new to us“, Explains site manager Kasperowski. "As early as 2000, the BMW Group's Landshut site equipped the BMW Hydrogen 7, the technology platform with a hydrogen combustion engine at the time, with components made of sand casting."

BMW iX - another example of innovations from Landshut

Another example that the company continues to rely on its Lower Bavarian locations on the way to tomorrow's mobility is the BMW iX. The BMW Group's first fully electric series vehicle prepared for highly automated driving will roll off the assembly line in Dingolfing from 2021. The BMW Group Plant Landshut will also supply important high-tech components for this, for example the innovative kidney - the "eye" - for the BMW iX. The kidney is essential for highly automated driving. It allows the integration of camera technology, radar function and other sensors for highly developed driver assistance systems in the front of the vehicle. In total, the BMW Group in Landshut is currently investing more than 50 million euros in innovative components for future vehicle models.

Photos: BMW

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BMW i Hydrogen NEXT

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