Carmaker BMW has opted for hydrogen over batteries for the Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) that help run its marquee Leipzig assembly plant.
The decision follows a three-year trial where both battery and hydrogen fuel cell AGVs were tested on site, moving components and materials around the factory. According to BMW, hydrogen improved uptime and reliability, with the vehicles able to refuel in seconds. Ultimately, this allowed BMW to reduce the number of AGVs needed to service the plant, improving efficiency.
That’s an extra step when they could just use electric.
You should actually try to read the article.
The non snarky answer : they tested both for 3 years and found hydrogen much faster to refuel, leading to less downtime and letting them reduce the robot fleet by 20%.