Germany and Japan test hydrogen future with BMW, Toyota cars
On Wednesday, German Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder arrived at Toyota's fuel cell factory in a German BMW iX5 Hydrogen, only to later depart in a
On Wednesday, German Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder arrived at Toyota's fuel cell factory in a German BMW iX5 Hydrogen, only to later depart in a Japanese Toyota Crown FCEV. The choice of cars was, of course, no coincidence, with both vehicles generating electricity from hydrogen in a fuel cell. Car makers BMW and Toyota are currently jointly developing the third generation of this drive technology. Three BMW employees have specifically moved to Japan to participate in the undertaking. Both companies are contributing components to help develop a more compact and efficient fuel cell. Once this stage is complete, BMW will manufacture this drive technology in an Austrian factory and Toyota will do the same at a Japanese production site. BMW plans to launch its first hydrogen series model in 2028. Toyota will also equip its two existing hydrogen series models with the new system. Exact details, however, are not yet known. Complex challenges ahead for Germany, Japan "The cooperation between Toyota and BMW on hydrogen is groundbreaking for the further development of this drive technology," Transport Minister Schnieder told reporters after his visit to the city of Toyota. "We need to get hydrogen ready for series production so that we are not just dependent on batteries and fossil fuels and can build broader supply chains," the minister added.
Germany and Japan, Schnieder said, had been working together on this "extremely complex task" since launching their energy partnership in 2019. Germany expects a sharp increase in demand for green hydrogen produced using electricity from renewables by 2030. It will be unable to meet this demand and thus will have to import large quantities of hydrogen. Could green hydrogen offer a way to cleaner transportation? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Japan, too, plans to expand its hydrogen capacity to twelve million tons of per year by 2040. It is also, however, promoting the production of ammonia as a carrier for hydrogen. There are plans to add ammonia as a transitional fuel in conventional thermal power stations. Hydrogen remains niche fuel for now The German minister's visit to Japan showed that both countries are still a long way from making green hydrogen a widely available fuel, especially in the industrial context. Schnieder visited the world's first terminal for liquid hydrogen in the port of Kobe, which has so far only been used for testing purposes. He then visited Kansai Airport in Osaka, where buses and forklift trucks run on fuel cells, albeit as a pilot project only.
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