Hydrogen mobility can act as a catalyst for the overall hydrogen economy, as the rollout can be started with lower hydrogen volumes and slightly higher prices. Another advantage is the synergy between the different sectors: Fuel cell technology can be employed in a whole range of applications, ranging from forklifts to passenger vehicles to buses all the way to heavy duty trucks. As production volumes drive economies of scale, the high volumes of passenger vehicles can help to drive down technology costs also for buses and trucks. Conversely, for refueling infrastructure, the heavy duty applications provide the daily hydrogen consumption needed to make the refueling stations economically viable and help to establish the base station network that also supports the rollout of passenger vehicles.

The key success factors for the rollout of hydrogen mobility are the availability of infrastructure for all vehicle types, hydrogen prices at the pump and technology cost that allow TCO-parity to diesel. A major contribution to reducing technology cost is fuel cell powertrain in the new BMW X5 model, which will start production in 2028 and will be one of five powertrain options. This first-of-a-kind integration is made possible by a new flat-storage system which places the hydrogen tank in the design space of the BEV’s high voltage battery. In addition, the fuel cell system, developed in cooperation with Toyota Motor Corporation, achieves high integration density while using standard cell which are also suitable for other applications.