Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine Cars
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Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2ICE) Cars
As we are facing high gas prices and a limited supply of gas, it is time to look for alternative fuels to power our cars. The only completely carbon-free fuel is hydrogen. Fired in an internal combustion engine or converted in a fuel cell, the end product of the reaction is water. As the majority of car companies looked towards fuel cells, BMW has been convinced for the past 25 years that internal combustion is the way to go. Some car companies even think of hydrogen combustion as the bridge to get to fuel cell cars.
In 2000, BMW became the world’s first car manufacturer to produce an experimental fleet of 15 hydrogen cars, the model 750 hL. The BMW 750 hL has a bivalent engine, capable of running on either hydrogen or gas. The engines used in hydrogen cars are actually modified gas engines. This will contribute to making the price of such a car a lot lower. In addition to its 140-liter hydrogen tank, storing liquid hydrogen at an extremely low temperature, it also has a gas tank, which extends the vehicle’s range from around 300 to 900 km. This allows the car to be used on today’s road network, where hydrogen filling stations are still scarce. You run out of hydrogen, the car will automatically switch to gas. The variable timing of the valves makes sure that the engine settings are optimized for either fuel. Hydrogen has long been in use as an important raw material in the chemical industry, and can be produced in several ways. Typical processes include steam reforming of natural gas, or electrical separation of water (electrolysis). One of the challenges that engineers are facing today, is trying to find an environmentally friendly way to produce the hydrogen needed to power these cars, without using coal or gas plants. There is no point in investing so much money in a car with zero emissions, if coal or gas is used to produce the fuel for these cars. The best way would be solar power or water power plants.
Preparations for the series production of hydrogen cars started at the BMW Group in 2001. The first customers will take delivery of series-produced hydrogen cars during the lifetime of the present 7 Series.