We’ve been told that the future of transport belongs to electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. And we can already see that there are many electric cars around. Meanwhile hydrogen seems to be a little bit neglected, attracting interest from just a few manufacturers. Among them, of course, is Toyota, which is leading the way. But BMW is definitely pushing it too.
These high-pressure hydrogen tanks are made of carbon-fibre reinforced composite. Image credit: BMW
BMW has been using hydrogen-powered machines in its production plants for some time now. But it is also trying to offer them to you more. Soon you may be taking your kids to school in a brand new BMW iX5 Hydrogen (although it will be luxuriously unaffordable for most). Now BMW showed what fuel storage system this new hydrogen-powered SUV will have.
Hydrogen storage in vehicles has always been a problem. Hydrogen molecules are small and eager to escape. Also, if hydrogen fuel cells are to succeed, the range needs to be acceptably large, which means that tanks need to be quite large. They are also round to hold the pressure well and that shape can be hard to integrate into normal passenger cars. However, cars are meant to be used and bulky hydrogen tanks may interfere with the regular function.
The new BMW iX5 Hydrogen will have a range of up to 750 km thanks to its new arrangement and size of the tanks. The new BMW Hydrogen Flat Storage system has 700 bar high-pressure hydrogen tanks arranged in a flat rectangle to make the entire package more interior-space friendly.
The BMW Hydrogen Flat Storage system for BMW iX5 Hydrogen consists of seven high-pressure tanks made of carbon-fibre reinforced composite. Obviously, they are all connected and essentially act like one. Together they store at least seven kilograms of hydrogen and can be refilled in under five minutes. All of those tanks are connected by a metal frame, which should slot into the new car like a Tetris block.
Dr Joachim Post, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Development, said: “Think of it as installation Tetris: every customer gets the drive system best suited to their needs and a true BMW X5 with no compromises.”
The BMW iX5 Hydrogen will also have innovative high-voltage batteries. The fuel cell system basically produces electricity. It can then be stored in a relatively small battery pack or used to propel the car. All in all, that car will be very innovative and very complex.
But hydrogen will still have to overcome a few obstacles before becoming popular. Do you know where would you even fill up your hydrogen car?
Written by Povilas M.
Source: BMW
