Petrol power stats for hydrogen BMW X5

Following the announcement from Land Rover concerning its hydrogen Defender, BMW is also recommitting to the alternative fuel source.

The company’s R&D department has revealed details of an extensive hydrogen testing programme, using the BMW X5 architecture.

BMW’s i Hydrogen NEXT SUV needs to prove that storage and refuelling with hydrogen can be viable. At least, in Europe.

An interesting aspect of this hydrogen BMW SUV is the involvement of Toyota. The Japanese company has collaborated with BMW before (Z4/Supra) and is known to be a strong believer in hydrogen.

Toyota has shared some of the development burden regarding hydrogen fuel tanks and fuel mixture technology, present on the i Hydrogen NEXT. The fuel cells are from Toyota, while the stack and drivetrain system is BMW.

Even companies of the size and stature of BMW, and Toyota, no longer have the resources to launch independent R&D into new technologies, such as hydrogen.

BMW’s i Hydrogen NEXT is all about showing how applicable hydrogen is, to an existing vehicle platform – in this case, X5. The fuel source is not meant as a replacement for its battery-powered cars but as an additional offering that could be sold alongside its imodels.

Is it powerful enough to power a large SUV? The hydrogen and oxygen reaction creates 125 kW of primary driving electricity, but this can be boosted to 275 kW, by using a buffer battery function. And yes, that 275 kW peak output number, even for short bursts, is not accidental. It is exactly what you get from a 3-litre turbopetrol BMW six-cylinder engine.

Hydrogen proponents champion is low fuel mass, as a big advantage. Although BMW has not divulged any range targets for the i Hydrogen NEXT, the total hydrogen fuel storage is only 6 kg.

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