The right moment for hydrogen?! BMW has once again made a resounding announcement: "Hydrogen is the future, and we will lead this transition." And it all sounds absolutely wonderful—silent acceleration, zero emissions, refueling in three minutes. Almost like a fairy tale. But anyone who has ever driven from Ljubljana to Primorska knows very well that even electric charging stations in our country grow more slowly than mushrooms after a drought, let alone hydrogen ones.
BMW says now is the right time for hydrogen. Here's why BMW already presented a prototype last year iX5 Hydrogen, whose heart is powered by Toyota fuel cells. And now they even promise the first production model in 2028 – of course if you will be lucky to live next to one of the few pumps. Hydrogen infrastructure? In Europe, it is worth 77.8 billion euros, but most of this sum exists only on paper in Brussels.
And one more thing: most real Most of the success with hydrogen fuel cell technology is happening in trucks and trains, not in passenger cars. Why? Because hydrogen is not only expensive, but also difficult to store, transport and pump. Unlike electricity, which you can “plug into your wall socket”, hydrogen requires… well, a mini-refinery.
BMW says now is the time for hydrogen. 3 minutes to fill up? Sure, if you're lucky
Hydrogen cells, however they offer everything electric vehicle enthusiasts love: instant torque, zero emissions, silence. But one small, well, huge problem: Where the hell are we going to pump this hydrogen?
In Slovenia, there is currently exactly nothing publicly available hydrogen pumps. Nothing. Hope. Zero. There are about 100 in Germany, a few dozen in France. And these are the countries with the greatest support for the hydrogen strategy. The EU is also expected to install 40 GW of green hydrogen electric insulators by 2030 (source: European Commission), but hey – it's 2025 and we're still buying diesels because they're "more reliable".
BMW is playing on all fronts – and maybe hoping we'll miss the point
BMW clearly doesn't want to be tied to a single powertrain. They have EVs with a range of up to 1,000 km, they're still developing gasoline engines, and now they're pulling their hair out over hydrogen. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But it seems like their strategy is simple: a little bit of everything and let's hope we're right at least once.
CEO Oliver Zipse says that “unilateral regulations lead to a dead end.” We agree. But perhaps we should add: Even one-sided illusions about hydrogen highways lead to a dead end... without pumps.
Conclusion: Hydrogen is great. But only on PowerPoint.
BMW dreams of a world where we can refuel hydrogen as easily as we can fill up with diesel today. In reality, it's closer to having flying Teslas than a network of hydrogen stations around Trebnje.
So, is it now Is it time for hydrogen? Maybe. If you're a future explorer who lives in Hamburg, drives a test vehicle and has your own hydrogen station at home. For the rest of us... let's go ahead with a good electric car that can be charged at night at a home outlet.
