Everyday testing of the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT with hydrogen fuel cell drive begins

The BMW Group is starting everyday testing of near-series vehicles with a hydrogen fuel cell drive on European roads. With the prototypes of the BMW i Hydrogen NEXT, the interaction between the CO2-free drive, the model-specific chassis technology and the vehicle electronics systems is tested under practical conditions. The BMW i Hydrogen NEXT is a purely electrically powered vehicle that uses hydrogen as an energy carrier and converts it into electricity in a fuel cell. With the testing program that has now started, the prerequisites are being created for being able to present a small series of the model developed on the basis of the BMW X5 at the end of 2022. These vehicles are used to gain practical experience in the use of this sustainable drive technology in a broad field test. In the long term, hydrogen fuel cell technology has the potential to complement combustion engines, plug-in hybrid systems and battery-electric vehicles within the flexible drive strategy of the BMW Group. In the future, it can be an attractive alternative to battery-electric drives, especially for those customers who do not have their own access to the electric charging infrastructure or who often travel long distances