BMW unveils hydrogen car demonstration fleet

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From pv magazine Global | via the Hydrogen Stream

BMW has finally put its iX5 Hydrogen vehicle on the road, after four years of development. “In the course of the year, the pilot fleet will be used worldwide by various target groups for trial and demonstration purposes,” said the German automaker. BMW uses fuel cells sourced from Toyota Motor. The vehicle’s powertrain has a maximum output of 295 kW/401 hp. The gaseous hydrogen needed to supply the fuel cell is stored in two 700-bar tanks made from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP). Together, they hold 6 kg of hydrogen, giving the BMW iX5 Hydrogen a range of 504 km in the worldwide harmonised light vehicle test procedure (WLTP) cycle. Refuelling the hydrogen tanks takes three to four minutes. “We will go into production in the second half of this decade,” said Juergen Guldner, BMW’s hydrogen program manager.

Everfuel and Hy24 have announced a new joint venture to finance the accelerated development of electrolyser capacity across Scandinavia. Everfuel will own 51% of the venture, and the Hy24-managed Clean H2 Infra Fund will own 49%. The venture plans to invest €200 million ($313 million) in equity in green hydrogen infrastructure in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, in order to build, own and operate up to 1 GW of green hydrogen projects.

Sinopec has launched a methanol-to-hydrogen and hydrogen refuelling service station in Dalian, China. “The storage and transportation cost of methanol is also much lower than hydrogen, making methanol-to-hydrogen an ideal hydrogen production technology,” said the company.

John Cockerill and the Vietnamese authorities have agreed to collaborate on the development and production of renewable energy and green hydrogen. Vietnam sees Belgium as a preferential partner in hydrogen research.

StormFisher Hydrogen and Germany’s Kiwi have signed a deal to advance the development of green hydrogen-related projects in North America and Europe. “The partnership falls in line with ambitions from the Canadian and German government to enhance energy security with clean Canadian hydrogen,” said the two companies. Kiwi runs an industrial power-to-gas plant in Werlte, Germany.

GeoPura has secured GBP 36 million ($64 million) in an investment round led by GM Ventures, along with Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, SWEN CP, and Siemens Energy Ventures. The UK green hydrogen producer said it aims to mass produce hydrogen power units (HPUs) with its partner, Siemens Energy. GeoPura plans to deploy a fleet of more than 3,600 HPUs by 2033.

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