The Bavarian automaker BMW will receive a total of approximately €273 million in funding from the German federal government and the Free State of Bavaria for the hydrogen IPCEI project “HyPowerDrive.” The total funding is provided 70 percent by the federal government (€191 million) and 30 percent by the Free State of Bavaria (€82 million).
The funding certificate was presented in Berlin by Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger, together with Federal Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder and Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder, to BMW Board Member for Development Dr. Joachim Post.
The BMW project is the third Bavarian project to be funded as an “Important Project of Common European Interest” (IPCEI) in the field of hydrogen. The European Commission had already given its approval in May 2024.
Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, Hubert Aiwanger, emphasized: “I am delighted that BMW is seizing the opportunity to combine fast refueling and freedom from fossil fuels with hydrogen in its passenger cars – and this is only possible with hydrogen. The technology is mature and now finally needs to be put on the road. BMW will be doing this with series production vehicles starting in 2028, and we are supporting them in this endeavor. I thank the federal government for pursuing this path and hope that, like Bavaria, the federal government will also support the ramp-up of hydrogen for trucks in the near future.”
Aiwanger referred to the new Bavarian H2 truck subsidy program. “We are supporting the development of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles with €35 million. This builds on the BMW IPCEI funding and our hydrogen refueling station support program. We need H2 vehicles and an H2 infrastructure to ramp up hydrogen mobility as a complement to battery-electric vehicles. I urge the federal government to also invest in hydrogen mobility. Together with the federal government, we can give the industry a powerful boost and secure a leading position in the global market, which will otherwise once again be occupied by Asia.”
Within the framework of the HyPowerDrive project, BMW AG is developing an innovative hydrogen drive system for passenger cars, thereby reaffirming its technology-neutral approach in the field of sustainable drive technologies. The goal is to develop a cost-efficient flat storage tank system within the installation space of the high-voltage battery of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) and to integrate it into an overall system. By combining hydrogen technology with the BEV architecture, costs can be reduced and shared production lines can be used.
Photo of BMW(Quelle: BMV
Bundesverkehrsminister Patrick Schnieder, der Ministerpräsident des Freistaates Bayern Dr.Markus Söder und der Bayerische Staatsminister für Wirtschaft, Landesentwicklung und Energie Hubert Aiwanger haben heute in Berlin die Förderurkunde für das Projekt HyPowerDrive an Dr. Joachim Post, Entwicklungsvorstand der BMW AG, übergeben.
Press release (translated by Google) https://tinyurl.com/2s363kv7
