Hydrogen is still on BMW’s roadmap. With a production hydrogen-powered car set for 2028, the conversation around alternative fuels at BMW Group is heating up again. Most of the attention so far has gone to the iX5 Hydrogen SUV—but this isn’t BMW’s first dance with H₂. In fact, more than two decades ago, MINI quietly rolled out its own hydrogen-powered prototype. And it was a lot cooler than you might expect.
The 2001 MINI Cooper Hydrogen: A Forgotten Experiment
Unveiled at the 2001 Frankfurt Motor Show, the MINI Cooper Hydrogen didn’t rely on fuel-cell wizardry like today’s hydrogen EVs. Instead, it used good old-fashioned internal combustion—just with cryogenic liquid hydrogen instead of gasoline. Under the hood sat a modified version of MINI’s 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, adapted to burn hydrogen thanks to a novel injection process.
Here’s the trick: instead of warming the hydrogen to ambient temperature before combustion (the standard at the time), engineers injected it while it was still super-cooled. That denser air-fuel mixture boosted engine efficiency and performance, putting it closer to what drivers expected from a regular petrol MINI. Even the packaging was clever. Instead of awkward cylindrical tanks that eat into cabin space, this MINI tucked its contoured hydrogen tank beneath the rear seats—taking up no more room than a normal gas tank. It was one of the earliest examples of trying to make alternative fuel tech invisible to the end user.
More Than a One-Off: BMW Kept Tinkering
MINI’s hydrogen story didn’t end with the 2001 concept. BMW engineers kept playing with the idea, using 1 Series hatchbacks and Clubman bodies to test hybrid hydrogen setups. One particularly ambitious prototype combined a small 5kW hydrogen fuel cell with supercapacitors and a rear-mounted electric motor. The result? A MINI that could drive its rear wheels using clean electricity in city centers, while the front wheels stayed powered by a conventional petrol engine. Together, the two systems could even deliver short bursts of all-wheel-drive punch.
A Future Hydrogen MINI?
Unlikely. Today, the idea of a hydrogen-powered MINI would be a detour on the road to full electrification. BMW has often stated that the technology makes mostly sense for larger cars, so seeing a hydrogen-powered MINI or even a 1 Series hatchback is far fetched. But it’s cool to see that these homegrown projects eventually end up somewhere. The 2001 MINI Cooper Hydrogen wasn’t some half-baked science fair project. It was a serious engineering experiment with real-world potential—and in some ways, it was ahead of its time. BMW Group has long believed that hydrogen could complement battery electric vehicles, and with hydrogen back in the spotlight, the future will be interesting.
