BMW will bring its first Hydrogen car to the market in 2028

BMW plans to launch its first hydrogen powered vehicle in 2028 using the fuel cell technology it developed with Toyota Motor Corp.

The company did not provide any further information. It said that the vehicle will be a model already in production with an option for hydrogen fuel cells. The company did not provide any details about the price or volume of production.

BMW CEO Oliver Zipse stated in a press release that the vehicle will "highlight the way technological progress shapes the mobility of tomorrow".

The partnership will enable the two groups to reduce costs and develop a drive unit for passenger cars whose technology can also be used in commercial vehicles.

BMW is the most pro-hydrogen carmaker in Germany. It has been testing a passenger hydrogen vehicle called the iX5 Hydrogen, which can travel 500 km (310 mi) on a single tank and refuel within three to four minute.

The group has developed fuel cell prototypes along with battery-powered ones in order to be prepared for whatever "green" technology will dominate.

Fuel cell vehicles use an electric motor similar to an EV but draw power from a fuel tank where hydrogen is separated using a catalyst.

Hydrogen powered vehicles are refuelable quickly and can travel a long distance, but due to high costs and the limited number of fuelling stations available few automakers have invested in this technology.

BMW assumed that the hydrogen charging infrastructure will have grown significantly by 2028 in order to accommodate their plans. (Reporting and writing by Miranda Murray, Patricia Weiss, Victoria Waldersee and Madeleine Chambers. Editing and proofreading by Jan Harvey and Madeleine Chambers)

(source: Reuters)