We’re just seven years away from all new petrol cars being banned from UK roads and millions of us being forced to switch over to electric. Having tried a number of electric cars (EVs) over the past year there’s no question that they are getting better and better but there remains the massive problem of refilling them. Firstly, the UK’s charging infrastructure remains woefully inadequate and there’s the time it takes to top up the tank with some vehicles needing over 40 minutes to get from flat to full.
Massive queues at service station charging points have already become a serious issue at busy periods of the year and, as more of us go electric, things are only going to get worse.
Luckily, there could be an alternative to full battery power with some car makers now investing heavily in Hydrogen. BMW is just one manufacturer that believes this technology could sit alongside electric vehicles in the future and there is one massive advantage of using it.
I recently took the latest BMW iX5 Hydrogen for a spin and with power running low I found out exactly why this fuel offers something fully electric vehicles simply can’t beat.
Pulling into a Hydrogen forecourt at London’s Heathrow Airport felt just like topping up with petrol. You simply drive up to the Hydrogen pump – which is run by a firm called Air Products – plug in the pipe and refill the tank. The whole process took no longer than a few minutes with the car then ready to travel another 300 miles. To perform a similar boost with an EV would take at least 30 minutes and sometimes even longer depending on the power of the charger.
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The car works by converting hydrogen into electricity. So rather than having a massive battery, you simply have a tank that stores the gas and then creates the energy needed to keep moving. BMW’s drive system can deliver an electrical output of up to 125 kW/170 hp, with water vapour as the only emission.
This drive power also enables it to maintain consistently high speeds over longer distances and, unlike EVs, this type of tech isn’t affected by conditions such as cold weather so you’ll get a decent range in both summer and winter.
The hydrogen needed to supply the fuel cell is stored in two 700-bar tanks made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), which together hold almost six kilograms of hydrogen. “Filling up the hydrogen tanks only takes three to four minutes – so there are no limits on using the BMW iX5 Hydrogen for long distances, with just a few, short stops in-between,” explains Juergen Guldner, head of BMW Group Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology.
Driving the iX5 Hydrogen felt just like testing an electric car so there’s no rumble of an engine or noise from the exhaust. There’s also plenty of power when your right foot hits the pedal with the internal battery able to supply 374hp when needed to whizz away from traffic lights. This in-built power pack also gets topped up under braking which helps increase the range.
So what are the downsides of Hydrogen and why aren’t we all rushing to switch to this tech?
Firstly, refilling might be fast but finding a station that sells this fuel isn’t easy. Air Products has just a handful of forecourts and there’s only a total of 15 across the whole country.
Topping up is also pretty expensive with a full tank costing around £100 – that will give you around 300 miles of range.
Hopefully, that price will come down in the future and more stations will start popping up in more areas of the UK.
Hydrogen definitely has its benefits over fully electric cars and unless the charging infrastructure and range rapidly improves we might just need an alternative come 2030.
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