BMW joins forces with Toyota to develop hydrogen-powered cars

Toyota will band together with BMW to develop hydrogen technology, in what is the biggest indication yet that BMW is gearing up to enter a hydrogen-powered vehicle into the mainstream market.

According to Nikkei Asia, the Japanese and German automakers are set to sign a memorandum of understanding confirming the partnership next week, with an announcement expected during BMW’s round table media event on September 5.

It’s the latest evolution of a hydrogen partnership that dates back to 2012, when Toyota agreed to supply BMW with a limited number of hydrogen fuel cell components.

This agreement will pave the way for a more comprehensive partnership, with Toyota supplying BMW with more sophisticated hydrogen tanks and fuel cell systems. According to Nikkei Asia, BMW will then use its in-house EV technologies to manufacture the rest of the vehicle.

The announcement doesn’t come as a surprise, given that Toyota is already a well-established player in the hydrogen fuel cell segment, and BMW has increasingly expressed interest in producing a hydrogen cell vehicles for the mainstream market.

BMW recently toured its hydrogen powered iX5 hydrogen prototype – which is built on the X5 SUV platform – across Australia in July, while Toyota introduced its hydrogen powered Mirai, one of two hydrogen vehicles available in Australia, on a special leasing agreement back in 2021. The Mirai has been offered in Japan since 2014.

2021 Toyota Mirai

Hyundai is the only other brand in Australia with a hydrogen passenger vehicle, the Nexo SUV, which it distributes under a similar leasing scheme. The ACT and QLD governments are two of Hyundai’s biggest leasing partners for the Nexo. Each government leased a fleet in 2021 which they have both extended as of this year.

The arrangement with Toyota may bring down the cost of any prospective hydrogen vehicle from BMW, although questions persist — particularly in Australia — about the feasibility of selling a hydrogen vehicle to the public.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles run on electricity generated through a chemical reaction created between hydrogen and oxygen, with their only tailpipe emission being water.

Their range and refuelling time is considered to be better than EVs, with the technology presenting itself as an attractive alternative as the demand for EVs begins to plateau.

There are just 12 hydrogen refuelling stations in Australia, with the cost of delivering hydrogen infrastructure here remaining incredibly high. The CSIRO’s hydrogen refuelling and production station in Melbourne, for example, cost $2.5 million to build, but only generates enough fuel capacity for roughly 10 vehicles per day.

BMW may struggle less in Germany though, where a network of 86 refuelling and production stations puts Germany as one of the global leaders when it comes to hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.

2021 Hyundai Nexo

Toyota Australia signed a memorandum of understanding last year with Hyundai, energy-giant Pacific Energy and fuel retailer Ampol to drive local infrastructure expansion.

Hyundai’s XCIENT Hydrogen Fuel Cell trucks already operate across Europe on a commercial scale, with Hyundai and Toyota particularly adamant that hydrogen technology will first establish itself in the transport industry before it becomes available on a mainstream scale in passenger cars.