BMW hydrogen-powered 750hL drive over 100,000 kilometres

The zero-litre cars of the Munich BMW Group have passed the 100,000
kilometre mark. With a fleet of fifteen hydrogen-powered BMW 750hL, the
BMW Group has thus proven that this cleanest of all fuels is suitable
for everyday use. The cars have been in operation since May of this
year. The luxuriously fitted saloons with an output of 150 kW/204 bhp
and a petrol consumption of zero litres demonstrate that hydrogen and
the combustion engine are the best combination for ecologically sound
travel in the future. Dynamic performance and agility do not suffer:
excellent driving performance figures ensure driving pleasure in its
cleanest form. These vehicles were used at the EXPO for a daily
shuttle service for VIPs and visitors. The outcome is impressive: over
3,000 guests took the opportunity to experience the future of the
automobile over the last five months. The vehicles were fuelled several
hundred times reliably and without any technical breakdowns. For BMW,
the use of hydrogen is linked to the combustion engine: "The
combustion engine offers benefits in terms of cost, performance capacity
and weight. For mobile use, it cannot be replaced by the fuel cell with
an electrical engine. Whilst fuel cell automobiles only exist as
prototypes, the BMW hydrogen cars are on the road every day,"
explains Anton Reisinger, responsible for the consistent realisation of
the strategy as project manager of CleanEnergy. With its CleanEnergy
strategy, BMW is striving for the worldwide establishment of a hydrogen
industry based on regenerative energies. The main source is solar
energy, which has made considerable progress over recent years.
"The sun supplies us with a year's energy for the earth's
population within just one hour - free of charge. We now have the
technology to harness this potential," says Reisinger. "And
this is the only way to achieve our ultimate goal: the reduction of CO2
emissions in road traffic to zero." Methanol, sometimes put
forward as a fuel for the fuel cell, is not an alternative as far as
BMW is concerned: "Methanol is highly poisonous and corrosive.
Filling stations would have to be reequipped at high cost. There are no
significant advantages to the customer in terms of handling. What is
more, methanol first has to be converted to hydrogen in the vehicle;
this means a considerable decrease in efficiency", explains Dr.
Juliane Wolf, responsible at the BMW Group for issues of road traffic
and the environment. The main disadvantage of methanol, however, is the
release of carbon dioxide: this climatic gas is produced when methanol
is converted to hydrogen. "I am proud that the BMW Group has taken
on a leading role in the development of mobility solutions which are
sustainable in the future. Our fleet of hydrogen-powered 7 Series cars
proves that the zero-litre need not mean a sacrifice," says
Joachim Milberg, Chairman of the Board of the BMW Group. At the same
time, Milberg welcomes Chancellor Schröder's statement, who
promised Government support for the development of the zero-litre car
last Tuesday. "The automobile companies need political support to
break away from their dependency on mineral oil. Hydrogen is the way to
achieve this."