NOVELIST Jules Verne wrote of hydrogen split from water as an ‘inexhaustible’ source of energy 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
