News

BMW To Test Its iX5 Hydrogen Model In The Middle East

In spring 2023, BMW will debut the small-series hydrogen-powered demonstrator vehicle with a view to enabling carbon-free mobility in the region.

Published

3 years ago

December 9, 2022

Nour Nasir

bmw to test its ix5 hydrogen model in the middle east

BMW

The BMW Group has begun the manufacture of a small-series hydrogen-powered car, known as the iX5 Hydrogen model, with work taking place at the firm’s Munich Research and Innovation Centre.

The car will be the first Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) to feature this futureproof fuel source after a successful round of intense hydrogen fuel cell testing in demanding conditions. Once ready, the iX5 Hydrogen will head to the Middle East in the spring of 2023, where it will become a technology demonstrator of carbon-free mobility.

As for the car itself, the iX5 Hydrogen features an electric motor and high-performance battery positioned in the rear axle, using the same BMW eDrive technology that can also be found in the company’s electric and plug-in hybrid models.

bmw ix5 hydrogen engine

Across the Middle East, clean energy adoption has become a strategic priority, with several countries aiming for net-zero emissions targets by 2050. As part of a more significant push into alternative energy sources, the region aims to capture a large portion of the global hydrogen market.

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“Hydrogen is a versatile energy source that has a key role to play as we progress towards climate neutrality,” says Frank Weber, board member of BMW AG.

The charging infrastructure for typical electric vehicles isn’t uniformly spread across the Middle East, where, for obvious reasons, petrol still dominates as a fuel source. BMW’s hydrogen fuel cells are highly desirable in these kinds of scenarios, as they allow faster fueling and longer ranges than a typical EV could achieve.

News

Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users

Google brings its latest image model to Gemini and Search, adding 4K output and tighter text control for regional users.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 27, 2026

Nour Nasir

Google

Google has opened access to Nano Banana 2 across the Middle East and North Africa, pushing its newest image model into everyday tools rather than keeping it inside the exclusive (and expensive) Pro tier.

The rollout spans the Google Gemini desktop and mobile apps, and extends to Google Search through Lens and AI Mode. Developers can also test it in preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API.

Nano Banana 2 runs on Gemini Flash, Google’s fast inference layer. The focus is speed, but also control. Users can export visuals from 512px up to 4K, adjusting aspect ratios for everything from vertical social posts to widescreen displays.

The model maintains character likeness across up to five figures and preserves fidelity for as many as 14 objects within a single workflow. This enables visual continuity across scenes, iterations, or edits — supporting projects like short films, storyboards, and multi-scene narratives. Text rendering has also been improved, delivering legible typography in mockups and greeting cards, with built-in translation and localization directly within images.

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Under the hood, the system taps Gemini’s broader knowledge base and pulls in real-time information and imagery from web search to render specific subjects more accurately. Lighting and fine detail have been upgraded, without slowing output.

By embedding the model inside Gemini and Search, Google is normalizing advanced image generation for a mass audience. In MENA, where startups and marketing teams are leaning heavily on AI to scale content across languages and borders, that shift lands at a practical moment.

The move also folds creative tooling deeper into search itself, so that image generation is no longer a separate workflow. It now sits right next to the query box.