BMW to produce hydrogen-powered 760iL starting April 2007

[kaisen]

BMW to roll out hydrogen-powered 7 series in April

Reuters | 10:00 am, September 12, 2006

MUNICH -- BMW will roll out the world's first hydrogen-burning car in serial production early next year, the automaker said today, eager to put its stamp on cars with green credentials.

The specially equipped 7-series sedans emit only water vapor when running on hydrogen.

The car hits the market next April and will be shown at the Los Angeles auto show in November, the company said. It had said in March the hydrogen cars would arrive within two years.

A spokesman said the car would be leased to selected customers rather than sold because of its high price. Leasing rates would be similar to those for a top-end BMW 760Li with a full-service package.

The BMW 7-series Hydrogen 7 sedan is powered by a 260 hp V-12 engine and accelerates from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.5 seconds. Top speed is limited electronically to 230 km/h (143 mph).

BMW has said it intends to build a few hundred such cars at first. They will be able to switch between burning gasoline and hydrogen so that drivers will not be left stranded while the infrastructure to deliver hydrogen is built up.

"The integration of hydrogen drive in an existing vehicle concept which has already proven its merits in the market paves the way for an alternative to conventional drive concepts fully accepted in the market and with all the assets the customer is looking for in practice," BMW said.

The space that two fuel tanks take up means only the 7 series will offer the hydrogen package at first. BMW's long-term goal is to offer hydrogen motors in all its cars.

BMW unveiled the world's fastest hydrogen-powered car at the 2004 Paris auto show. Dubbed the H2R, it can exceed 300 kilometres (185 miles) per hour and reaches 100 km per hour (62 mph)from a standing start in around 6 seconds.

While BMW is developing fuel-cell driven cars as well, it says it is concentrating on the combustion engine because the sum total of its features and characteristics offers the largest number of advantages and benefits all in one.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I'd be interested to see how they contain the hydrogen.

[nostatic]

code name for the model: Hindenburg

[serge944]

Missing the big picture: how do you obtain the hydrogen. Sure, its the most abundant element, but, it's mainly in H20 form. Splitting the water molecule takes LOTS of energy and produces LOTS of pollution. This is why this idea was abandoned a while back - it simply isn't any better than gasoline engines.

[rammstein]

I personally see hydrogen cars as the most exciting alternative technology out there, but not ready for primetime. As Serge pointed out, where does the hydrogen come from? He is correct that the process takes a lot of electricity, and thus isn't all that sensible. YET.

Once we have something generating cheap, clean electricity, I think that hydrogen will power our cars. The car will run like it should, and the added bonus is that there is a LOT of performance potential, perhaps exceeding gasoline. That is the kind of technology I can stand behind.

So where/when will get electricity on the cheap? I am crossing my fingers on nuclear fusion. A test reactor will supposedly be up and running by 2010. If the ball gets rolling there, and lets say by 2020 we have plentiful fusion electricity, hydrogen makes the most sense. WAY more sense than finicky fuel cells or battery powered cars.

Another place to keep watch is on solor power (no, not for the car but for the electricity source for hydrogen creation). There is an immense amount of energy to be harnessed in just a square yard of solar cell, but we lack the technology to absorb it effectively. There is this "nano-technology" stuff that is way beyond me, but supposedly this is being used to advance the solar panel tech.

In the meantime, as long as electricity is generated by shoveling coal I fail to see how anything makes sense other than petroleum.

[serge944]

Ah yes, nuclear fusion would be nice. Very low quanity of low half-life radioactive product and many times more efficient than fission.

Supposedly France was going to build a plant. Article is a year old, anyone know of the current status?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4629239.stm

[rammstein]

It is underway. Read this:

http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1644106.htm

Basically, in 10 years, if this works, they will build a test full-scale reactor, and if that works, BAM. Momumental shift in the history of mankind. And this is possible in my lifetime. I really hope this works. Also nice to see that this is a true multi-national effort.

Edit- of course, there are millions of things that they have yet to figure out, but its worth it, because the end product would be so phenomenal

[kaisen]

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=116791

MUNICH — BMW has announced it will begin trials of a new 6.0-liter V-12 gasoline/hydrogen-powered version of the 7-series next year. This is a continuation of the automaker's CleanEnergy program that aims at widespread sales of hydrogen-powered BMW models by the start of the next decade.

The new car, dubbed Hydrogen 7 and set for public debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show in late November, will be available to selected customers in North America, Europe, and Japan on a rental basis.

The Hydrogen 7 will get a price comparable to that of today's 760iL, on which is it based, according to officials from the German carmaker.



Initial volumes will be limited to about 100 cars, although BMW executives are not counting out the possibility of more if demand should outstrip supply. Previous trials of hydrogen powered BMW models have all been carried out in-house.

The Hydrogen 7 is powered by a reworked version of BMW's 6.0-liter V-12 engine producing 260 hp and 288 pound-feet of torque. That's enough to provide 0-to-62-mph acceleration in 9.5 seconds and a 143-mph top speed on both hydrogen and gasoline. The cruising range is put at 125 miles in hydrogen mode, with a further 300 miles in gasoline guise. In hydrogen mode, the reworked 7-series is emission free, producing nothing more than water vapor from its tailpipe. The hydrogen is stored in a 2.1-gallon tank with a double wall structure consisting of stainless steel plates and a vacuum layer to address safety fears.

The Hydrogen 7 will be produced alongside other BMW 5-, 6-, and 7-series models at the company's Dingolfing plant in Munich.

What this means to you: Here's a hybrid with a twist. BMW has long extolled the virtues of hydrogen, and this trial is a significant step in realizing the automaker's aim of putting hydrogen-powered cars on our roads.

[svonkampen]

BRING IT ON!


Awesome....

Wanna nip terrorism in the bud?

This is THE way!!!


A Hydrogen powered 911 sounds kinda "sexy"

SvK

[RickM]

2.1 gallon tank? I can't imagine at what PSI.

[kaisen]

Originally posted by RickM
2.1 gallon tank? I can't imagine at what PSI.

I believe 5,000 PSI (350 BAR)

[hytem]

Originally posted by nostatic
code name for the model: Hindenburg

LOL. Funny I was just thinking the same. If you think gasoline is volatile, wait till you try hydrogen. Maybe they should look at helium.

[MotoSook]

Let's see.. Maybe gasoline is the fuel of choice ... because of it's volumetric energy density? And liquid hydrogen makes good rocket fuel because of its Gravimetric energy density?

Reality: a gallon of Gasoline has more hydrogen than a gallon of liquid hydrogen - in other words gasoline is a great way to store hydrogen fuel. The only economic source of hydrogen at this time is oil.

You could write your congressman to change the laws of physics. Often, reality doesn't fit our emotional wants and desires, but reality can be a stubborn thing to deal with.

IMHO the "hydrogen economy" is just a buzz word for a boondoggle designed to get tax subsidization money. In any article you read about hydrogen, it might be a good idea to replace the words"hydrogen economy" with "hydrogen boondoggle" to get a clearer meaning.

http://xtronics.com/reference/energy_density.htm

[Craig 930 RS]

Better than the Ethanol E85 joke of 27% less mileage.....

[kaisen]

...... and 80% less emissions.

[Craig 930 RS]

Yeah, from next to nothing to virtually nothing. Big deal.

[kaisen]

Yeah, catalytic converters really boost power and fuel efficiency. Great logic

[MotoSook]

Originally posted by kaisen
Yeah, catalytic converters really boost power and fuel efficiency. Great logic

See above:

"The only economic source of hydrogen at this time is oil."

[Craig 930 RS]

Yeah, great logic on your part. WTF did you even bother to bring it up -

[kaisen]

Ethanol puts out 80% fewer emissions compared to gasoline. Therefore, ethanol engines need no catalytic converters to reach 'virtually nothing' emissions levels. Gasoline engines need cats to bring them to 'next to nothing' levels. Comparing a gasoline engine with a cat to an ethanol-optimized engine not requiring a cat, the 27% disparity in efficiency may shrink and still produce fewer emissions.

Some would think even 27% less fuel economy would be a fair trade-off for 80% fewer emissions. If it's not important to you personally, that's your prerogative.

Souk, I was comparing to ethanol, not hydrogen.