German transport minister promotes green hydrogen in Japan

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. "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?

Key points

• 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.