BMW says hydrogen cars will match the price of combustion cars by 2025

The vice president of BMW for hydrogen projects, fuel cell technology and vehicles, Dr. Jürgen Guldner, believes that the cost of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will plummet in the coming years.

He says that hydrogen-powered models could become as cheap as vehicles powered by combustion engines within five years. Speaking to The Telegraph about the carmaker’s fuel cell plans, Guldner revealed that work is underway on the third generation of BMW’s hydrogen propulsion technology.

This comes almost five years after BMW joined Toyota in 2015 to collaborate on hydrogen technology.

“We are already starting to work on the third generation with a clear challenge to reduce the cost to the point where we can enter the market,” said Guldner. “2025 would be the first [for price parity with combustion engines]. If we look at the plans that Japan, Korea and others have published, they all suggest an opportunity between 2025 and 2030 to match the cost of conventional technology.”

Hydrogen vs combustion, will vehicles reach the same price?

Guldner says one way to reduce the costs of hydrogen powertrains will be to reduce the amount of platinum used to make the small cells in the fuel cell stack.

In 2022, BMW is expected to launch its X5 FCEV, previewed by last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show hydrogen SUV concept, the i Hydrogen Next FCEV. The prototypes BMW is currently testing are good for 402-482 km of range, but Guldner says they will soon be capable of travelling up to 563 km. Hydrogen versions of the X6 and X7 should follow the X5 FCEV to market.

The hydrogen-powered model based on the i Hydrogen Next concept will preview the new generation of fuel cell electric vehicles that BMW will present in 2022, three years before commercial launch.

Its SUV bodywork easily integrates the fuel cell technology, while the aesthetic changes clearly identify it as a model in the BMW i range.

The great advantage of these hydrogen cars, as Hyundai has demonstrated with the Nexo, is that they can offer zero local emissions mobility without restrictions, with a long range and refuelling times similar to a combustion-engined car. It is important to note that the future of this type of vehicle and its rollout will depend on the development of adequate hydrogen infrastructure. BMW, backed by its collaboration with Toyota, plans to expand its electrified offensive powered by hydrogen fuel cells. We will have to wait until 2022 to see the first units of these zero-emission models on our roads. Will carmakers manage to bring costs down?