BMW

1
BMWs Hydrogen Powered Vehicles

• Tamer Hassanein
• ITMG 100
• April 26, 2005

2
Fossil Fuels The problem Coal, Oil, and Gas
Provide 66 of electrical power and 95 of the
worlds total energy demands which includes heat,
transportation, electricity generation, and other
uses Guaranteed to run out in the near future
(15-100 years) Advantages Transportation is
cheap and easy, fossil fuel stations can be
built virtually anywhere as long as they can be
supplied. Disadvantages Pollution created from
them releases carbon dioxide which leads to the
greenhouse effect, sulphur dioxide leads to acid
rain http//images.google.com/images?hlenlrcli
entsafarirlsenqLASmogbtnGSearch
3
Hydrogen The Solution? Hydrogen is the most
plentiful element in the environment It wont
run out Fossil fuels are limited in supply. Once
they are used they are gone forever When Hydrogen
is burned it combines with oxygen and emits water
vapor Problems with hydrogen Transportation and
storage because it needs to be reduced to -423
degrees Fahrenheit to become a liquid Major
advantage over gasoline When burned it creates 3
times the energy
4
Hybrid vs Hydrogen By definition, a hybrid car is
simply one that runs from two fuel sources I.e.
gasoline and electricity However Electric cars
have been around since the 1840s and were even
used as taxis in New York in the early 1900s, so
the idea of using gas and electricity is not pure
genius
5
BMWs Ongoing Research Quick Timeline Since 1979
BMW has been researching and testing hydrogen as
an alternate fuel source and started with the
520, a prototype with an engine that runs on
liquid hydrogen or gasoline 1984-1996 BMW builds
and road tests three generations of hydrogen
cars 2000-2002 BMW uses the 750 iL as the
platform for the fifth generation hydrogen car,
the 750 hL. They make 15 of them which create
the worlds first fleet of hydrogen-powered cars
and collectively travel a distance of 100,000
miles 2001 Create a redesigned 7 series, the
sixth generation car 745h 2004 BMWs H2R
hydrogen-based racecar sets nine speed records
and raises the bar
6
Normal Gasoline Engine vs Hydrogen Engine In a
normal gasoline engine fuel is injected into the
combustion chambers In BMWs hydrogen-powered
engines injection valves are directly integrated
into the intake manifolds Hydrogen combusts
faster than and at a higher temperature than
gasoline and as a result the hydrogen/air mixture
is only ignited when the piston reaches the top,
directly in the middle of the cylinder, which
provides maximum power output Until hydrogen
becomes the norm, BMWs hydrogen vehicles will
run on both hydrogen and gasoline
7
Re-fueling Procedure by BMW Easier than with a
gasoline powered car When driver pulls up to the
station, the vehicle is recognized as a
hydrogen-powered car by use of a tank card or
electronic remote control An automated robot can
the tell whether the car needs liquid or gaseous
hydrogen Hydrogen gas will not leak into the air
because by the time the tank is nearly empty, the
hydrogen that is left is in a gaseous state. As
the -423 degree F liquid is pumped into the tank,
the gas that is left condenses and reduces the
pressure on the tank http//www.bmwusa.com/hydroge
n
8
Refueling Stations for BMW and Others Liquid
hydrogen is not widely available yet There are
two fueling stations in Germany, one in Munich
and the other in Berlin There are plans for BMW
to build 24 hydrogen fueling stations in
California Shell Hydrogen LLC is also involved in
a project to create 5 refueling stations
Washington, New York, California, and along the
eastern seaboard
9
H2R (Hydrogen Record Car) The first
hydrogen-powered racecar Born and raised in 10
months but has already set nine speed records at
the proving grounds in Mirasmas, France Based on
the 6.0 liter, 12 cylinder gasoline engine of the
760i Produces 232 horsepower and despite its
lower power, the car can go 187 MPH, faster than
the 355 HP gasoline-powered Porsche Carrera S,
which does 182 MPH
10
Production Vehicles 745h BMW will use the 2001
745h as the base for its first production
cars Will eventually be called the H7 Has two
fuel tanks, one for liquid hydrogen and the other
for gasoline Same 4.4 liter V8 engine as the
745i, however it produces 182 HP instead of the
usual 325 HP. Will reach 60 MPH in 9.9 seconds
and a top speed of 134 MPH When compared to
hybrid vehicles this is actually quite good
performance
11
More advantages to Hydrogen Everyday it seems we
hear of rising fuel costs due to short supply and
inelastic demand In the U.S., we rely a great
deal on our cars for transportation because
public transportation is a joke Since hydrogen is
the most plentiful element in the universe and
there is no chance we will run out, we should
never face problems of low supply or no
supply Will also eliminate the need of exploiting
Alaskas precious environment for oil
12
References http//www.bmwusa.com/hydrogen http//
www.hybridcars.com/cars.html http//www.porsche.c
om http//www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/03/30/gm.fuel.cel
ls.ap/index.html http//www.babez.de/bmw/h2r.php h
ttp//www.ask.com http//www.images.google.com htt
p//www.geocities.com/hydrogenpower1/essays/main/g
raphs.html