CAPTION: German carmaker BMW starts production of fuel cells. (icture alliance/dpa)
German carmakers Mercedes-Benz and Audi are focusing entirely on the battery-powered electric car for the future - but BMW is also investing in the hydrogen-powered car alongside it. Using fuel cells from Toyota, BMW plans to put the BMW iX5 Hydrogen on the road in a small series starting in November. For CEO Oliver Zipse, that's just the beginning: a "real series offering" is already under consideration, he said. "It will definitely be before the end of this decade. The sooner, the better," Zipse said in Garching, in the southern German state of Bavaria, where he was launching the production of the fuel cell system for the hydrogen BMW.
For motorists, the hydrogen-powered car offers advantages in everyday life that are familiar from gasoline or diesel: fast refueling and long ranges, even in cold weather. The big question, however, is whether there is enough green hydrogen available and what it will cost.
For BMW, the battery-powered e-car is the future benchmark; by 2030 at the latest, every second BMW will be powered by it. But in view of increasingly scarce raw materials for the batteries on the one hand and insufficient charging networks on the other, Zipse does not want to put all the company’s eggs in one basket. Hydrogen is "the missing piece of the puzzle that can complete e-mobility where battery-electric drives will not prevail," he said.
Notice: No person, organization and/or company shall disseminate or broadcast the above article on Xinhua Silk Road website without prior permission by Xinhua Silk Road.
A single purchase
