The world’s first flex-fuel hydrogen I.C.E production car
Submitted by BMW on 3 June, 2007 - 13:03
What if combustion engines ran on liquid hydrogen
This limited production BMW with an internal combustion engine will run on either petrol or liquid hydrogen (3x more energy than the same weight of gasoline). The use of the BMW Hydrogen 7 at the Revolve Brighton to London rally marks yet another step towards hydrogen powered cars becoming an everyday reality on the streets of this country. Zero emission motoring is no longer a dream and this car proves the technology isn’t as far away as some sceptics may think.
The Ultimate Green Driving Machine?
The BMW Hydrogen 7 features a dual-mode power unit controlled at the touch of a button that can switch from hydrogen to conventional premium gasoline. The 6.0-liter Hydrogen 7 engine is based on the 12-cylinder unit carried over from the 760i. Engine power and torque remain the same regardless of mode. If one of the two types of fuel is fully consumed, the system automatically switches over to the other type of fuel. The cruising range in the hydrogen mode is more than 200 km (8 kilos of hydrogen), with another 500 km available in the gasoline mode (74-liters of petrol).
Availibility
BMW is building the car in a limited series and deploying it to very selected users in the US and other countries in 2007.
The BMW Hydrogen 7's 6-liter V12 flex-fuel internal combustion engine on display at the Revolve Eco-Rally pit-stop in the North End shopping district, Croydon on World Environment Day 2007
Engine and Emissions.
Unlike fossil fuels, the combustion of hydrogen generates neither hydrocarbons (HC) nor carbon monoxide (CO), but it does produce NOx at high combustion temperatures. To reduce NOx the Hydrogen 7's engine runs with a lean burn under partial load. The lean burn keeps temperatures in the combustion process relatively low, thus minimising NOX emissions. Such a lean burn mode can be maintained throughout a particularly wide range of operation in the engine control map. And since hydrogen offers particularly broad ignition limits and burns at a fast rate, only a small amount of fuel is required in the mixture to generate a high level of efficiency, according to BMW.
The Hydrogen 7 is optimized for minimal emissions. Comparing the Hydrogen 7 to the conventional petrol-powered 760i illustrates With that as the primary principle, the performance reflects a considered trade-off between acceptable performance, range, the properties of hydrogen as a fuel, the nature of the injection system and the constraints of current storage technology. BMW points out that the Hydrogen 7 “can be used in a real proper manner, without any major setbacks.”
We want to kick-start the debate about the future of personal mobility and the importance of hydrogen as the definitive fuel. The opinions of politicians and other influencers are important in driving this forward to ensure that hydrogen-power comes to fruition as soon as possible.
BMW Group Head of Government and Industrial Affairs
