BMW REVEALS HYDROGEN FUEL CELL PROTOTYPES

Sexy i8 Catches the Eye, But Future of BMW Fuel Cell Vehicles Lies in Saloons and SUVs

At long last, BMW has unveiled its two hydrogen-powered, fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV), and the i8 prototype in particular looks amazing. BMW has spent five years working on a way to integrate hydrogen fuel cell technology into their line of vehicles and chose BMW’s Innovation Days 2015 event as the ideal moment to present the modified 5 Series GT and i8 coupe. The new hydrogen concept vehicles represent the first tangible fruit of BMW’s ongoing collaboration with Toyota. Toyota has much experience with electric vehicles, notably the Prius, and unveiled the Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen-hybrid in 2014.

The German car giant has been very coy about its newest vehicles, revealing few details other than that the fuel cell can generate around 245 horsepower and provide a range of over 300 miles (500 km). Apparently the i8 sports prototype can go from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in six seconds, however, some commentators believe it is faster than that. The challenges of converting a plug-in hybrid to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, in particular integrating a large hydrogen storage tank, means something has to give, and in this case it is speed. However, these tentative first steps show BMW’s interest in FCV (fuel cell vehicles) is more than a passing fad. Sources at the company believe the technology is more naturally suited to saloons and SUVs as “it needs a larger vehicle for packaging.”