BMW iX5 Hydrogen Aced Hot-Weather Testing in The UAE Desert

BMW iX5 Hydrogen pilot fleet undergoing real-world testing in UAE

Earlier this year in February, BMW had just released the pilot fleet of the marque’s first hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) prototype – the BMW iX5 Hydrogen – with about 100 units deployed worldwide to undergo crucial real-world testing before said model underwent mass production.

The iX5 Hydrogen was being put on immense pressure during the desert testing

Said pilot fleet just completed rigorous hot-weather testing, taking place in the middle of the desert in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Throughout this strenuous period, the iX5 Hydrogen FCEV managed to hurdle over arduous desert conditions like extreme temperatures of over 45 degrees Celsius, along with sands, dusts, and strong winds.

Aside from testing out the durability and reliability of the iX5 Hydrogen, the German marque is also using the pilot fleet to run a feasibility study on the development of a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure that uses a 700-bar quick refuelling technology for a seamless zero-emission alternative for locals. BMW claims that this refuelling infrastructure can be accessed by all forms of FCEVs, ranging from passenger cars to buses and even heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

Beyond the Middle East region, testings for the iX5 Hydrogen pilot fleet also took place in other parts of the globe, including in Europe, Japan, Korea, China, as well as the US.

Developed in-house at BMW’s Munich facility, the iX5 Hydrogen starts life as the fourth-gen BMW X5 SUV built in the marque’s US plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It then gets equipped with a hydrogen FCEV powertrain setup that combines both hydrogen and the marque’s own eDrive battery electric motor technologies.

As a result, the iX5 Hydrogen powertrain setup consists of a hydrogen fuel cell unit rated at 170 PS (125 kW), with its juices provided by two carbon fibre-reinforced plastic tanks that store hydrogens in high 700-bar pressure. Mated to the eDrive setup rated at 213 PS, the iX5 Hydrogen boasts a total system output of 401 PS, allowing it to hit a sub-six-seconds century sprint time, as well as a maximum range of 504 KM (WLTP).

BMW seems quite 'open' in their decarbonisation strategy, not just focusing solely on BEVs

Compared to other European brands, BMW stood out as the one of the automakers that ‘openly’ invests its resources in developing the hydrogen FCEV technology, whilst other marques seemed to put all their eggs in the battery EV (BEV) basket. However, this ‘technology-open’ approach taken by BMW is not the same with Toyota’s multi-pathway decarbonisation strategy, with the German marque’s method skews towards being more flexible to the changing market demands.