Confirmed: BMW’s new iX5 Hydrogen will do 385 miles on a tank

BMW has shed a bit more light on its upcoming iX5 Hydrogen, confirming that the fuel-cell SUV will manage 385 miles of range between fill-ups.

That’s thanks to the very literally titled ‘BMW Hydrogen Flat Storage System’, which we’re told is “new and innovative” with seven carbon-fibre reinforced composite high-pressure tanks all connected in parallel and integrated into a metal frame.

“What makes the design special is that, instead of individual pressure vessels, there are several chambers connected to form an enclosed unit,” says BMW. “This unit is controlled by a central main valve. In this way, the optimised storage concept enables the BMW iX5 Hydrogen to achieve a greater range.”

The system has also been designed to take up as little space as possible in order to preserve cabin space, and apparently it means the iX5 Hydrogen can be built on the same production line as the electric, hybrid and combustion-engined variants. Nice.

“Think of it as installation Tetris: every customer gets the drive system best suited to their needs and a true BMW X5 with no compromises,” says development chief Dr Joachim Post. “This is technology openness and the art of engineering just the way we developers love it!”

BMW – which has been collaborating with Toyota on hydrogen propulsion for some time now – also claims to have filed a number of patent applications for its new system, which can store seven kilograms of hydrogen and can be refilled from empty in less than five minutes.

It’s coming folks, but is it really the future?