However it plays out, making hydrogen power more affordable is one of the industry’s biggest challenges, and BMW seems to have found the key.
Guldner says that the hydrogen prototype we’ve seen in an X5 body is in a similar sort of pilot phase as the Mini E, which ultimately led to the production of the BMW i3 supermini. That means we can expect to see the iX5 Hydrogen testing in public more and more, and “if market conditions are right,” hydrogen vehicles will eventually make their way to production.
Why does it matter? “When traveling, I’d like to eat where I enjoy the food and not where there’s an electric charge point available.” That was a quote from a customer, which proves that EVs still have their stumbling blocks, including access to at-home and at-work charging, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles could overcome many of them.
We’ll get a good idea of how far hydrogen has come and where it’s going at the BMW exhibit at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.