Wednesday, October 19, 2022 8:33:11 AM
Amid the hype of new electric vehicles, BMW is still pursuing other leads.
ByHannah Elliott, October 18, 2022
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-18/bmw-group-chairman-oliver-zipse-hydrogen-cars-are-still-happening
The iX5 concept, one of BMW’s attempts at hydrogen power.
BMW is hanging in there with hydrogen. That’s what Oliver Zipse, the chairman of BMW AG, reiterated during an interview Oct. 17 in Goodwood, England.
“After the electric car, which has been going on for about 10 years and scaling up rapidly, the next trend will be hydrogen,” he says. “When it's more scalable, hydrogen will be the hippest thing to drive.”
BMW has dabbled with the idea of using hydrogen as a power source for years, even though it is obscure and niche compared to the current enthusiasm surrounding vehicles powered by electricity. In 2005, BMW built 100 “Hydrogen 7” vehicles that used the fuel to power their V12 engines. It unveiled the fuel cell iX5 Hydrogen concept car at the International Motor Show Germany in 2021.
In August, the company started producing fuel-cell systems for a production version of its hydrogen-powered iX5 sport utility vehicle. Zipse indicated it would be sold in the United States within the next five years, although in a follow-up phone call a spokesperson declined to confirm that point. Bloomberg previously reported that BMW will start delivering fewer than 100 of the iX5 hydrogen vehicles to select partners in Europe, the US, and Asia from the end of this year.
All told, BMW will eventually offer five different drivetrains to help diversify alternative-fuel options within the group, Zipse says.
“To say in the UK about 2030 or the UK and in Europe in 2035, there’s only one drivetrain, that is a dangerous thing,” he says. “For the customers, for the industry, for employment, for the climate, from every angle you look at, that is a dangerous path to go to.”
Zipse’s hydrogen dreams could even extend to the group’s crown jewel, Rolls Royce, which BMW has owned since 1998. The “magic carpet ride” driving style that has become Rolls-Royce’s signature selling point is flexible enough to be powered by alternatives to electricity, says Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös.
“To house, let’s say, fuel cell batteries: Why not? I would not rule that out,” Müller-Ötvös told reporters during a roundtable conversation Oct. 17 in Goodwood on the eve of the debut of the company’s first-ever electric vehicle, Spectre. “There is a belief in the group that this is maybe the long-term future.”
Such a vehicle would contain a hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrain combined with BMW’s electric “eDrive” system. It works by converting hydrogen into electricity to reach an electrical output of up to 125 kW/170 horsepower and total system output of nearly 375hp, with water vapor as the only emission, according to the brand.
Hydrogen’s big advantage over electric power, which requires an extensive and so-far nonexistent charging network, is that it can supply fuel cells stored in carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic tanks. “There will [soon] be markets where you must drive emission-free, but you do not have access to public charging infrastructure,” Zipse says. “You could argue, well you also don’t have access to hydrogen infrastructure, but this is very simple to do: It’s a tank which you put in there like an old [gas] tank, and you recharge it every six months or 12 months.”
Fuel cells at BMW would also help reduce its dependency on raw materials like lithium and cobalt, because the hydrogen-based system uses recyclable components made of aluminum, steel, and platinum.
Zipse’s continued commitment to prioritizing hydrogen has become an increasingly outlier position in the automotive world. In the last five years, electric-only vehicles have become the dominant alternative fuel—if not yet on the road, where fewer than 3% of new cars have plugs, at least at car shows and new-car launches.
Rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi scrapped their own plans to develop fuel cell vehicles and instead have poured tens of billions of dollars into developing pure-electric vehicle. Porsche went public to finance its own electric aspirations.
BMW will make half of all new-car sales electric by 2030 across the group, which includes MINI and Rolls-Royce.
Recent NKLA News
- Form DEFA14A - Additional definitive proxy soliciting materials and Rule 14(a)(12) material • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/23/2024 08:09:11 PM
- NIKOLA AND AiLO LOGISTICS ANNOUNCE ORDER FOR 100 HYDROGEN FUEL CELL ELECTRIC TRUCKS • PR Newswire (US) • 05/21/2024 12:05:00 PM
- Form DEFA14A - Additional definitive proxy soliciting materials and Rule 14(a)(12) material • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/20/2024 08:21:35 PM
- Form DEFA14A - Additional definitive proxy soliciting materials and Rule 14(a)(12) material • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/17/2024 08:04:59 PM
- Form DEFA14A - Additional definitive proxy soliciting materials and Rule 14(a)(12) material • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/14/2024 08:07:37 PM
- Form DEFA14A - Additional definitive proxy soliciting materials and Rule 14(a)(12) material • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/10/2024 08:04:41 PM
- Form ARS/A - Annual Report to Security Holders: [Amend] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/08/2024 08:05:35 PM
- Reddit Rises 15% After First Quarterly Report, Upstart and Twilio Plunge Due to Weak Q2 Forecast, and More in Earnings • IH Market News • 05/08/2024 12:23:27 PM
- NIKOLA EXPANDS HYDROGEN NETWORK WITH INAUGURATION OF SECOND HYLA REFUELING STATION IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA • PR Newswire (US) • 05/08/2024 12:05:00 PM
- Form DEFA14A - Additional definitive proxy soliciting materials and Rule 14(a)(12) material • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 08:54:24 PM
- Form 424B3 - Prospectus [Rule 424(b)(3)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 08:47:40 PM
- Form 424B3 - Prospectus [Rule 424(b)(3)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 08:45:08 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 08:38:03 PM
- Form 424B5 - Prospectus [Rule 424(b)(5)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 08:35:49 PM
- Form 424B3 - Prospectus [Rule 424(b)(3)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 08:03:44 PM
- Form 424B3 - Prospectus [Rule 424(b)(3)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 08:03:33 PM
- Form 10-Q - Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 03:32:39 PM
- U.S. Index Futures Mixed in Pre-Market Tuesday, Oil Dip • IH Market News • 05/07/2024 11:47:40 AM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 11:08:50 AM
- Nikola Corporation Reports First Quarter 2024 Results • PR Newswire (US) • 05/07/2024 11:00:00 AM
- Form DEFA14A - Additional definitive proxy soliciting materials and Rule 14(a)(12) material • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/06/2024 08:34:19 PM
- NIKOLA CHAIRMAN ADDRESSES STOCKHOLDER QUESTIONS ON REVERSE SPLIT PROPOSAL IN DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT • PR Newswire (US) • 04/30/2024 12:05:00 PM
- M&M Residual and Trevor R. Milton Announce Concerns Related to Potential Fraud and Misconduct at Nikola Overseen by Steve Girsky, Britton Worthen and the Board of Directors • Business Wire • 04/11/2024 03:30:00 PM
- Apple Terminates 614 Employees, Disney Unveils June Crackdown on Password Sharing, and More Updates • IH Market News • 04/05/2024 11:38:57 AM
- NIKOLA CORPORATION ANNOUNCES DATE FOR FIRST QUARTER 2024 RESULTS AND WEBCAST AND Q&A PLATFORM FOR SHAREHOLDERS • PR Newswire (US) • 04/04/2024 08:05:00 PM
Avant Technologies Engages Wired4Tech to Evaluate the Performance of Next Generation AI Server Technology • AVAI • May 23, 2024 8:00 AM
Branded Legacy, Inc. Unveils Collaboration with Celebrity Tattoo Artist Kat Tat for New Tattoo Aftercare Product • BLEG • May 22, 2024 8:30 AM
"Defo's Morning Briefing" Set to Debut for "GreenliteTV" • GRNL • May 21, 2024 2:28 PM
North Bay Resources Announces 50/50 JV at Fran Gold Project, British Columbia; Initiates NI 43-101 Resources Estimate and Bulk Sample • NBRI • May 21, 2024 9:07 AM
Greenlite Ventures Inks Deal to Acquire No Limit Technology • GRNL • May 17, 2024 3:00 PM
Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) Subsidiary Pro Music Rights Secures Final Judgment of $114,081.30 USD, Demonstrating Strength of Licensing Agreements • SONGD • May 17, 2024 11:00 AM