NO MORE HARD CELL?

BMW's latest approach to hydrogen fuel cells could see price parity with EVS by 2035. We find out how

- Chris Rosamond

NOVELIST Jules Verne wrote of hydrogen split from AE an inexhaustible all the way back in 1874, but a hydrogen-fuelled future has seemed like a pipe-dream over the intervening years.

With H₂ filling stations in single figures, and only a handful of expensive H₂-powered cars on UK roads today, one might reasonably ask how we're on the cusp of a revolution that will finally make Verne's dream a reality.

Yet BMW is firmly convinced of the opportunity, and last week landed four of its latest hydrogen fuel cell-powered iX5 prototypes on British shores, presenting its vision for fuel cells to media outlets and the Department for Transport in an effort to 'warm-up' an audience for fuel cell-powered passenger vehicles in the years ahead.

Speaking to BMW's hydrogen programme chief Jürgen Guldner, who accompanied the cars on their visit to the UK, we learned that hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains that can be topped up in minutes could be a no-cost alternative to batteries across a range of BMW electric models by 2035. That's because new, compact hydrogen fuel tank technology allows the maker to cheaply package hydrogen storage in vehicle platforms also designed for batteries.

But the outlook for European drivers is very different to here in the UK, where our Government maintains the view that renewable hydrogen is a scarce resource that should be reserved as fuel for freight transport, or to fuel high-intensity industrial processes that can't reduce their carbon footprint in other ways. Traditional 'dirty' hydrogen refined from fossil fuels is not part of anyone's net zero vision either. So here in the UK, the Government wants you to drive an EV that's battery powered.