Toyota and BMW are joining forces to push through the hydrogen fuel cell headwinds

Toyota and BMW are updating their concern successful hydrogen substance compartment vehicles, signing a caller memorandum of knowing to accelerate the improvement of next-generation, zero-emission vehicles. BMW volition motorboat its archetypal hydrogen-powered exemplary successful 2028.

Hydrogen is the astir abundant constituent successful the universe, but automakers person struggled to marketplace substance compartment vehicles to the public. A terrible deficiency of fueling infrastructure extracurricular of California successful the US has prevented hydrogen from becoming arsenic fashionable oregon prevalent arsenic battery-electric cars. And conveyance income person fundamentally collapsed: lone 322 substance compartment vehicles were sold successful the US successful the archetypal fractional of 2024, 82 percent little than a twelvemonth ago. 

Toyota and BMW deliberation they tin flooded these challenges together. The upgraded concern aims to standardize components and bring down the outgo of substance compartment vehicles by processing their ain shared powertrain. They volition besides enactment unneurotic to physique hydrogen fueling stations to code the halfway stumbling artifact to substance compartment conveyance adoption. The companies originally joined forces successful 2012 connected hydrogen vehicles.

BMW says its bid accumulation exemplary volition beryllium an existing exemplary successful its lineup that’s offered arsenic a hydrogen-powered variant. The 2 companies volition besides enactment unneurotic connected substance cell-powered commercialized vehicles but didn’t specify what type. They besides called for the instauration of a “conducive framework” betwixt authorities and manufacture to guarantee hydrogen exertion has legs to basal on.

Hydrogen substance cells usage compressed hydrogen arsenic their fuel, releasing h2o vapor arsenic its lone emission. Several automakers person precocious seized connected the exertion for its advantages successful the improvement of heavy-duty vehicles and mobile powerfulness generators — and arsenic a mode to further modulation distant from polluting gas-powered vehicles and conscionable their ain clime goals.

Toyota, successful particular, is 1 of the fewer companies that is inactive selling rider vehicles powered by substance cells. The Toyota Mirai is lone disposable successful California and comes with a complimentary fueling voucher worthy up to $15,000. As of June this year, the Japanese carmaker had sold astir 26,000 Mirais since its launch, according to the company. BMW besides has its ain substance cell-powered vehicle, the iX5, but the institution is lone investigating the waters by making a fistful truthful far.

Still, BMW and Toyota look an uphill battle. The fueling infrastructure successful California seems connected the brink of collapse, with dozens of stations offline astatine immoderate fixed time. Earlier this year, Shell closed its stations successful the state amid substance shortages. And the terms of hydrogen continues to climb, arsenic accumulation problems and proviso shortages roil the market. 

BMW and Toyota are holding a roundtable Thursday to reply questions astir their upgraded tie-up, arsenic good arsenic the challenges they volition look ahead.