Firmly convinced that the two decisive factors for the future of the automotive business are the fight against climate change and the intelligent use of resources, the BMW Group – as a premium manufacturer – does not forget that it is at the forefront in terms of sustainability. The clear decarbonisation objectives set for 2030 and which cover the entire life cycle of products, including the supply chain, the production process and the end-of-life phase, tell the story. And also a roadmap that has always anticipated the emissions targets set for our fleet by the European Union. The transformation to fully electric connected mobility has been led by the BMW Group in three phases. The first phase that started in 2007 involved pioneering e-mobility with Project i and transferring electric know-how to series production of the BMW i3 in 2013.
The second phase began with the possibility of choosing the preferred type of propulsion – from combustion engines to all-electric power supply – in the same model. By the time the second phase of the current transformation reaches its peak in 2025, the BMW Group will have delivered around two million fully electric vehicles to customers around the world.
But starting in 2025, the Group’s product range will be characterized by three key aspects: a completely redefined IT and software architecture, a new generation of electric powertrains and high-performance batteries and a radically new approach to sustainability during the entire life cycle of the vehicle.
We are pioneers of electromobility and by the end of 2023 we will cover 90% of our market segments with at least one ‘fully electric’ product – recently declared Massimiliano Di Silvestre, CEO and president of BMW Italia – but we continue to offer different propulsion systems next to each other, as, to date, there is no single solution that addresses the entire spectrum of mobility needs of customers worldwide. The path to electrification is paved and in the long term, hydrogen fuel cell technology could become the fourth pillar of our powertrain portfolio.”
For over 20 years, the BMW Group has also been involved in the topic of fuel cells and since 2013 it has been collaborating with Toyota Motor Corporation by joining forces to work on propulsion systems for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as part of a cooperation and development agreement of the product.
“Hydrogen as an energy vector – Di Silvestre reiterated – must be produced in sufficient quantities and at a competitive price, using sustainable electricity.
We believe that, in a first phase, hydrogen will be used mainly for heavy long-distance transport, i.e. on vehicles that cannot be directly electrified. Today, the necessary infrastructure is lacking, such as a vast European network of hydrogen refueling stations, but we know that important players, starting from the Italian ones, are working on very promising projects”.
In this context, the BMW Group is actively pursuing the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology. The Hydrogen project sees the introduction of a fuel cell electric powertrain on the current iX5 for a fleet of cars that will be used for demonstration and test purposes later this year.
Its hydrogen fuel cell technology is further evidence of the BMW Group’s development expertise in the field of electric drive systems.
Source: Ansa
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