(Motor Authority) — BMW recently started production of hydrogen fuel cells that will eventually be used in the powertrains of a limited run of hydrogen-electric BMW X5 SUVs. The SUVs will be used for test and demonstration purposes, and won’t be for sale.
A hydrogen-electric vehicle is essentially an EV that uses a hydrogen fuel cell to power the electric motor instead of a battery. The fuel cell combines hydrogen with oxygen from the air in a nearly emission-free process that creates electricity, either directly or via an intermediate battery.
In the case of BMW’s hydrogen-electric X5, which will go into production later this year as the BMW iX5 Hydrogen, the fuel cell sits up front and draws hydrogen from two tanks, one in the transmission tunnel and the other under the rear seat. The generated electricity is used to power an electric motor at the rear…