BMW has decided to bet on the hydrogen fuel cell. A technology called to coexist in the future with the battery electric car. The top leader of the German brand advocates promoting the hydrogen recharging infrastructure, which is extraordinary news for the automobile industry.
Not all manufacturers have decided to bet everything on the battery electric car. Great giants of the automobile industry have decided to bet on other options as an alternative to fully electric mobility. BMW It is a clear example of these movements that are taking place. The German brand has set its sights on the hydrogen fuel cell technology.
BMW is not the only company that welcomes hydrogen. And more specifically the hydrogen fuel cell. The future that is beginning to appear on the horizon does not have to be monopolized by a single technology. More options can coexist. That is why a brand like BMW decides to allocate resources to Hydrogen car boost is extraordinary news from the consumer’s point of view. The more technologies that coexist in the market, the more varied the offer will be when buying a car.
The need to expand hydrogen refueling infrastructure
Before the hydrogen car becomes a viable option for a significant part of the European population, several challenges must be overcome. The first of these has to do with the deployment of a refueling infrastructure. And, what is the point of having a hydrogen car if you have nowhere to refuel? It is a somewhat paradoxical situation, but this question can be perfectly applied to the battery electric car.
Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW, is aware of this situation and in view of the company moving forward exploring the hydrogen car market, advocates expanding the refueling infrastructure. Within the framework of the recent conference for the Innovation Day in Erlangen (Germany), the company’s top manager shared with the media their position on the current situation that this technology is going through.
“Hydrogen is the only raw material that can be produced and stored sustainably,” Zipse stressed just weeks after BMW started production of hydrogen fuel cells in Munich. Some fuel cells that will be equipped in the BMW iX5 Hydrogen.
He also pointed out the advantages of hydrogen over the electric vehicle: “You don’t need your own charging infrastructure. You can convert a gas station in two days. The path is relatively short, unlike electric mobility, where you need connections to the electricity grid and you need a charging infrastructure for each car.”
BMW remains committed to the electric car
The fact that BMW is already making hydrogen fuel cells It does not mean that he has put aside his 100% electric offense. The company remains intact its commitment to the battery electric car. Not only is it working on a new generation of electric models, it is also developing batteries that offer greater autonomy and is finalizing the details of the new Neue Klasse platform that will support, among others, the future electric BMW 3 Series.