BMW 7 series runs on cold, cold hydrogen
(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)
For BMW, engineering the impossible comes naturally. The company's engineers heard that hydrogen will be the fuel of the future, so they took a 7-series sedan and converted it. Instead of the 10-plus years of development that's gone into other automakers hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles, BMW needed only a couple of years to build the Hydrogen7, which it showed off at the Los Angeles Auto Show. But the Hydrogen7 uses a completely different approach than a fuel-cell vehicle. BMW Vice President Dr. Timm Kehler told us that electric motors could provide the performance that BMW demands, so the company worked out how to use hydrogen in an internal-combustion engine. The Hydrogen7 has hydrogen and gas tanks, and can switch between them, just in case you can't find any hydrogen refueling stations. BMW's 6-liter V-12 powers the Hydrogen7, but Dr. Kehler said that with further development, a 2-liter four-cylinder hydrogen-burning engine could pump out 300 horsepower. In another departure from the hydrogen mainstream, the Hydrogen7 uses liquid hydrogen, which is more compact than the gaseous form, but has to be kept at about minus 250 degrees Celsius. No problem for BMW engineers--they designed the tank like a giant thermos, so it keeps the hydrogen cold without resorting to any cooling systems.
and this is most likely near 1 million dollars like most other hydrogen.
Thanks for reporting,
Andrew
This $100k+ car does not approach a true marketable car. They will release a few for lease around extremely expensive refueling stations...wow how revolutionary. Honda has had hydrogen fuel cell cars in limited public hands for over a year. GM is rolling out the largest hydrogen test fleet to both the public and military at this time.
ALL?
Funny then that Honda or GM couldn't come up with that.
cryogenic liquids have been stored this way from time immemorial. Of course,
some heat gets in, and physics says therefore some hydrogen must vaporize and
therefore be (a) let out, or (b) burned in the engine, or (hopefully not!) (c),
explode the tank. After some weeks, all the fuel will be gone if it isn't used.
Applies to the whole storage chain from the time the LH2 is made until it is
consumed. Or, it could be refrigerated, but that will cost energy too. Lose either
the hydrogen, or something like the amount of energy it would have produced.
Cryogenic fuels all have this problem.
Suddenly, a BMW 7 Series flashed into her peripheral vision as it screamed down the hill, towards her. As it flashed beneath the red light and rushed towards her Volvo the man driving the car behind her looked up from the keypad of his cell phone and yanked his steering wheel to the left to avoid the Volvo screeching to a stop.
As Cathy stepped from the wreckage of her vehicle, she breathed a sigh of relief that she had let her husband talk her into buying a Volvo. It was a safer car. She was living proof.
Stumbling towards the mangled wreckage of the big BMW that had been t-boned by the car behind her, she felt a sharp pain in her right foot that was immediately replaced by a complete lack of feeling. Falling forward as her flash frozen foot shattered from her own weight she noticed the smoke-like vapor rising from the small river of -325 degree Hydrogen running away from the ruptured thermos-tank of the beamer. It was coming down the slope directly towards her.
Falling forward into the strange liquid, her last thoughts were "But I was driving a Volvo".
... get the point?
Would like to add the italians as well.
Look all developments are coming either from Germany or Japan
Best Diesel, Best Hybrid, Full Cell etc...
Americans no longer have time for their engineering practices they are listening to to much music on their IPOD.
Even their CART race there is no real innovation, they just put methanol and they have better engines compared to what it is done in Formula One it is Day and Night.
- by jeanmomo July 30, 2008 2:12 AM PDT
- This sure is a beautiful car :D!!
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(10 Comments)I've got the official pictures here : http://www.carchannel.be/nl/artikel/bmw/avant-premi%C3%A8re-de-nieuwe-bmw-7-reeks-innoveert , really marvelous hah :D!