2001 BMW E65 745h
Hydrogen Powered Concept
BMW is
making major progress towards the next generation of hydrogen powered cars. The
745h represents the 6th BMW model to utilize the hydrogen drive technology. BMW
claims the technology used in the 745h and other hydrogen models is
suffieciently advanced to permit realistic large-scale production. However,
hydrogen can only be a sensible alternative to gasoline if the electricity
needed to generate it can be produced with renewable energy sources, such as
solar, wind or hydroelectric power. Such energy sources combined with hydrogen
drives would yeild a zero emmission transportation system. Hydrogen burns
without generating any CO2 emissions, that is the emissions responsible for the
greenhouse effect & global warming.
The 745h contains the world's first V8 that can be powered by both hydrogen
& gasoline. The V8 is largely identical to the series production V8,
utilizing bi-VANOS, VALVETRONIC and the fully Varibale Intake Manifold to
reduce fuel consumtion. The hydrogen fuel source is a double-walled steel tank
behind the rear seat-backs. The hydrogen is stored cryogenically - that is, in
superchilled and liquid form - at a temperature of around minus 250 degrees.
Two safety valves ensure controlled ventilation in the case of excess pressure.
They are also part of the comprehensive safety concept which proved its
reliability in numerous crash tests. Even in the case of a massive rear-end
collisions in which the tank was impacted, the steel cylinder with dual,
2mm-thick walls, did not leak.
A further prerequisite for the introduction of hydrogen as fuel is a filling
system which must be no more complicated than filling a car today. The low
temperature of minus 250 degrees Celsius requires a special type of filling
station. BMW has developed appropriate technology which is currently being
demonstrated by the world's first public robot fuel station for liquid hydrogen
at the Munich airport. The fully automatic hydrogen fuelling operation takes
less than three minutes and is a simple process.
German Supercars - BMW - Audi - Porsche -