Partnership between BMW Group and TOTAL - construction is underway on the first public hydrogen filling station in the Munich area.

Munich. The installation of the hydrogen tank on 7 September 2006 marked
the start of construction work on the first public hydrogen filling
station in the Munich metropolitan area. It is situated in
Detmoldstraße, not far from BMW Group's Research and Innovation
Centre. The installation of an underground storage tank for liquid
hydrogen at the TOTAL filling station is a first for Germany and means
the hydrogen filling station will be visibly indistinguishable from a
conventional petrol station. "This marks a significant advance in
the integration of hydrogen as a future fuel into the day-to-day
refuelling infrastructure," emphasises Daniel Le Breton, Director
Transport and Energy of the TOTAL Group. As well as hydrogen, the new
filling station will also offer petrol and diesel fuel and is scheduled
to go on stream at the end of the year. Professor Dr. Burkhard
Göschel, BMW Member of the Board for Development and Purchasing,
commented: "In tandem with setting up a hydrogen infrastructure,
BMW Group is systematically driving forward its development of
technology for hydrogen-powered vehicles. A BMW 7 Series with a
hydrogen combustion engine is currently being developed to production
standard." The new filling station has been made possible thanks
to the close partnership between BMW Group and TOTAL that is promoting
hydrogen as an energy source for road traffic. The two companies signed
an agreement in May 2006 which will see TOTAL setting up and operating
three hydrogen filling stations in Europe by the end of 2007.