BMW’s Forschung und Technik GmbH celebrates its silver anniversary and revealed the fuel cell hybrid series concept. BMW has been working on hydrogen-fueled vehicles since at least the mid-1990s, mostly focusing on the use of liquid hydrogen in internal combustion engines rather than fuel cell electric vehicles.  This new concept is a through-the-road hybrid that uses both a small gasoline engine and a small five-kilowatt fuel cell powering super capacitors driving the 82 kW electro motor.  An inline-four gasoline engine is transversely mounted and drives the front wheels. The UTC fuel cell, which is developed from one that BMW has been testing mainly as an auxiliary power unit to generate the electricity needed for the car, is mounted behind the engine. This fuel cell is used to charge the super-caps, which also store energy from regenerative braking.
The electric drive can be used on its own for low-speed urban driving or combined with the engine for on-demand all-wheel drive and acceleration. At highway speeds, the engine provides primary drive. We don’t know if this concept drive train will go anywhere or if BMW will persist with the super-caps or switch to lithium ion batteries. BMW hasn’t revealed any details about electric driving range or performance.