BMW Hydrogen 7 in Depth

Press Release

Short Version (II)

High powerdome bearing testimony to the unique source of power.

The body of BMW Hydrogen 7 is based on the body of the BMW 760Li, with exactly the same exterior dimensions and wheelbase. While the characteristic look of the long-wheelbase BMW 7 Series Saloon remains almost unchanged, several components have been newly developed due to the higher weight of the car and the introduction of hydrogen technology.

A unique body feature exclusive to BMW Hydrogen 7 and serving as a clear sign of distinction is the new, high powerdome required to house the H₂ injection valves in BMW’s Hydrogen Saloon. At the same time, of course, this muscular contour on the engine compartment lid makes a clear reference to the unique source of power within the body of BMW’s hydrogen-drive car.

Further signs of distinction are the name “Hydrogen 7� on the rear lid and the word “Hydrogen� beneath the side indicators. Then there are the transparent LH2 tank filler flap with its chrome surround and the trim on the rear bumper with chrome appliqués. The words “BMW Hydrogen Power� on the sun visors over the rear side windows and in the door cutouts also bear clear testimony to the revolutionary drive technology this outstanding saloon has to offer.

A fundamentally new feature is that several sections of the body are made of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFP) and steel, a hybrid structure optimised for weight and with enhanced crash resistance. The BMW Group has indeed developed this combination of CFP and steel specifically for BMW Hydrogen 7 in order to set off the extra weight of the drivetrain and fuel supply system and at the same time meet all the special safety requirements made of this highly innovative vehicle. One example is the side frames left and right now strengthened from front to end by carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic, ensuring the same crash resistance as in the BMW 760Li.

Hydrogen displays in the cockpit.

Within the interior, BMW’s trendsetting Hydrogen Saloon shows only a few visual modifications versus the BMW 760Li. One particular sign of distinction is the new displays and instruments fitted for hydrogen drive in the cockpit. The instrument cluster in BMW Hydrogen 7 boasts the symbol “H2� in the display on the variable controls and instruments illuminated as soon as the car is running on hydrogen. A further feature is that BMW Hydrogen 7 comes not only with a fuel gauge for gasoline, but also with an H2 fuel gauge showing the current level of hydrogen in kilograms. The overall range the vehicle is able to cover, in turn, is shown both as a double crossbar and as an absolute number. The reserve levels for hydrogen (approx 1.5 kg useful residual amount for roughly 50 km or 30 miles) and gasoline (approximately 15 litres residual volume for at least 100 kilometres/62 miles) are shown separately of one another.

The most significant modifications within the passenger compartment visible at very first sight are in the rear, resulting from the arrangement of the hydrogen tank beneath the parcel shelf and behind the rear seat bench: The rear seat bench in BMW Hydrogen 7 is positioned about 115 millimetres or 4.5´´ further to the front than in the BMW 760Li and, respectively, some 25 millimetres or 1.0´´ further to the rear than in the “standard� version of the BMW 7 Series. In practice, this means that the two passengers sitting in the rear enjoy all the long-distance travel comfort of a BMW grand touring saloon also in the hydrogen car.

On account of the car’s overall package, the rear centre armrest is fitted firmly in position, meaning that BMW Hydrogen 7 is conceived and laid out as a four-seater. And while luggage capacity is smaller than in the other BMW 7 Series on account of the hydrogen technology fitted in the car, BMW Hydrogen 7 still offers 225 litres or 7.9 cubic feet of luggage space, enough, for example, to take along two golf bags without a problem.

Lightweight aluminium chassis carried over from the BMW 7 Series.

The chassis and suspension of BMW Hydrogen 7 is based on the standard lightweight aluminium chassis offering all the performance and driving dynamics so typical of the BMW 7 Series. Front suspension is provided by a double-joint tiebar spring strut axle, rear suspension features BMW’s integral-IV multi-arm axle with anti squat and anti-dive.

The increase in weight resulting from the car’s hydrogen components calls for a number of modifications in the set-up of the suspension, and the rear axle of BMW Hydrogen 7, as on the security version of the BMW 7 Series, has been upgraded by both aluminium and steel reinforcements.

Yet another important feature is that BMW’s Hydrogen Saloon comes as standard with AdaptiveDrive suspension combining anti-roll stabilisation with variable damper adjustment. AdaptiveDrive makes BMW Hydrogen 7 a very agile luxury saloon with supreme driving qualities easy to handle even in tight bends.

BMW Hydrogen 7 also features the brake system carried over from the “regular� 7 Series, reducing the stopping distance of this 2,460-kg or 5,424-lb saloon from 100 km/h to a standstill to 41 metres or 134 feet.

High-tech TPC Tyre Pressure Control.

BMW Hydrogen 7 comes as standard with the latest generation of BMW’s sensor-based TPC telemetric Tyre Pressure Control system. Carried over from motorsport, this system is particularly sensitive, ensures a highly accurate warning function, and represents the latest state of the art in tyre pressure control. Through its telemetric configuration, TPC measures the pressure in each tyre in short intervals, presenting deviations from the normal pressure level on each wheel within the instrument cluster. As a result, the driver is informed even earlier and with greater precision of any gradual loss of pressure in any of the wheels. And this also shows even more precisely what distance the car can still cover on its runflat tyres.

Safety always comes first.

With hydrogen being quite different in virtually all of its features and properties from gasoline or diesel, this new fuel naturally presents different demands in terms of vehicle safety. Very friendly to the environment, hydrogen is both odourless and colourless, and is therefore not perceived by the human being through our usual sensory organs.

Whenever hydrogen is able to escape into the air, it rises up quickly to higher levels, simply because it is 15 times lighter than the ambient air around it.
And while hydrogen is neither irritating nor toxic, it is more easily ignitable than gasoline or diesel as soon as it forms an appropriate mixture with air.
The most important point, however, is that hydrogen is absolutely safe as long as its characteristic features and properties are duly taken into account.

It goes without saying that the BMW Group would only develop a hydrogen drive vehicle for everyday use if that vehicle was able to offer supreme safety of the highest standard – and precisely this is why the BMW Group is involved in a number of international boards and committees for the development of uniform safety standards for the hydrogen car.

Parallel to the development of these standards, the BMW Group has established a consistent safety concept for BMW Hydrogen 7 and all its related systems and technologies. As an example, the liquid hydrogen tank comes not only with a boil-off management system, but also with two redundant valves monitoring the contents of the tank in the event of a significant build-up of pressure – for example as a result of damage to the tank – and letting off hydrogen under controlled conditions if necessary.

As soon as the first valve opens up, hydrogen is guided up to the roof of the car through safety pipes fitted in the C-pillars. The second valve opening up only under higher pressure allows hydrogen to flow to the underfloor of the car, where it is also discharged into the air. And the risk of escalation at the scene of an accident, that is the risk of burning fuel spreading on the ground, does not even present itself on a hydrogen car – as opposed to a car with gasoline or diesel fuel – since hydrogen does not accumulate on the ground in the form of ignitable puddles, but rather rises up and vanishes into the air.

One of the prerequisites for running a vehicle safely in everyday traffic is the level of safety built into the vehicle itself from the start. This is precisely why BMW Hydrogen 7 comes with a multi-level safety concept incorporating various precautions to prevent the hydrogen tank from bursting and hydrogen from escaping from the tank in an uncontrolled process.

Precisely this is why all components are designed and laid out to fulfil maximum safety requirements, just as they automatically switch over to a safe operating mode in the event of malfunction. A further point is that not only the tank itself, but also all other components and pipes comprising hydrogen are double-walled structures.

Safety functions specially developed for BMW Hydrogen 7, in turn, serve to reveal any deficiencies at an early point in time and trigger an appropriate response in order to avoid any undue risks. Hence, the driver is informed of any functional deficiency in the safety system before a hazard as such is even able to arise. A gas warning system with decentralised hydrogen sensors, for example, informs the driver of possible functional deficiencies both when motoring and when the car is parked. The electric power supply for the gas warning system is secured by a triple set of fuses, and apart from its regular battery, BMW Hydrogen 7 comes with two further batteries ensuring an ongoing supply of electric power independently of the car’s main battery.

Independent verification and certification.

Teaming up with the TÃœV South Germany Technical Inspection Authority, the BMW Group has successfully tested BMW Hydrogen 7 in a large series of the most demanding trials and test procedures focusing in particular
on the car’s hydrogen components and going through all the homologation requirements made of a regular production vehicle.

The BMW Group has also put BMW Hydrogen 7 through a complete programme of crash tests going beyond the usual legal requirements. These crash tests include frontal offset collisions in accordance with EURO NCAP at an impact speed of 64 km/h or 40 mph, rear-end collisions with 100 and 40 per cent overlap, as well as side-on collisions at the car’s most sensitive point directly on the fuel filler pipe.

To ensure optimum safety in even more extreme accident scenarios, the hydrogen tank was even tested under truly exceptional conditions such as exposure to flames, firearm shots, massive mechanical damage, as well as the reaction of the fuel tank and safety equipment to a loss in insulating vacuum. In an additional series of tests, tanks filled with hydrogen were fully encompassed by flames at a temperature of more than 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) for up to 70 minutes. Even under such conditions, tank behaviour did not present any problems, with the hydrogen in the tanks escaping slowly and almost imperceptibly through the safety valves.

Following these most demanding tests and examinations, both TÃœV South Germany and the fire brigade specialists acting as consultants arrived at the conclusion that the hydrogen car is at least as safe as a conventional gasoline car.

Rules and regulations for parking in a garage.

Since adequate statistically reliable data obtained under regular operating conditions is not yet available confirm the safety of the hydrogen tank as such, parking in closed-in spaces is currently not allowed.
The BMW Group will maintain this rule in the interest of the car’s drivers until adequate statistically valid reliability data has been compiled. This data will be collected in long-term use and in additional back-up and security programmes.

Driving the car and briefly stopping in fully enclosed spaces such as indoor car parks, driving through tunnels of any length, and using car wash facilities, as well as parking in an open carport, are fully allowed without restrictions.

Assembly at BMW Plant Dingolfing.

BMW Hydrogen 7 is built under regular conditions at BMW Plant Dingolfing parallel to the other BMW 7, 6, and 5 Series built at the Plant. And like all of BMW’s twelve-cylinder power units, the engine is built at BMW’s Engine Plant in Munich.

The driver of BMW Hydrogen 7 – a genuine pioneer.

BMW Hydrogen 7 has been tested for its everyday driving qualities in numerous trials also in road traffic. With the decision to switch over to hydrogen technology requiring the driver to change his motoring practices in a few – albeit limited – aspects, the motorist opting for a Hydrogen Saloon at this point in time is definitely an outstanding pioneer.

Since only everyday use of the car will be able to provide the essential experience required under practical driving conditions, the knowledge gained by drivers of BMW Hydrogen 7 will help to further enhance and develop this entire world of breakthrough technology.

Introducing the world’s first hydrogen-powered luxury saloon for everyday use, BMW is appealing to the truly dedicated motorist with a visionary attitude in life and, accordingly, with genuine interest in experiencing the beginning of a new era of individual mobility. So precisely motorists of this class and calibre will be receiving BMW Hydrogen 7 for an agreed period of time, under a lease quite comparable to conventional leasing arrangements. In the US, the BMW Hydrogen 7 will be deployed to selected users on a test drive basis.

When taking over the car, the driver receives detailed instructions on how to handle BMW Hydrogen 7. Service is required every three months and BMW’s Hydrogen Saloon is equipped with an innovative remote diagnosis system monitoring a wide range of vehicle data such as the inner tank pressure, the fuel level, on-board voltage, self-diagnosis data as well as defect reports forwarded regularly by the car itself to a BMW hotline.

Recognising the great potential of hydrogen right from the start.

The world’s first series-production luxury hydrogen saloon for everyday use is the result of decades of all-out research on alternative sources of drive energy conducted by the BMW Group. Recognising at an early point that hydrogen was the right fuel for the future, the BMW Group started as way back in the 1980s to study engines and vehicles able to run on liquid hydrogen. The first prototype of a dual-mode hydrogen car was then presented just a year later, BMW thus laying the foundation for this breakthrough technology. Today numerous studies and research projects carried out by scientists and experts the world over prove that only one type of fuel is able to provide a sustainable source of energy ensuring long-term availability in future: hydrogen recovered in a regenerating process.

Reduction of CO₂ on the conventional combustion engine.

The modern combustion engines featured in BMW Group cars combine a high standard of performance and driving dynamics with superior efficiency and all-round economy. Progress in engine development, in turn, comes to bear in several areas, with each newly developed power unit offering an increase in engine output, lower weight, and greater fuel economy than its respective predecessor.

BMW refers to this principle as Efficient Dynamics and therefore makes a significant contribution in the short and medium term to the ongoing reduction of emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO₂). Hence, the principle of Efficient Dynamics is an ideal match for the BMW Group’s CleanEnergy strategy seeking in the long term to establish a drive technology absolutely neutral in terms of CO₂ emissions.

The objective for the year 2008 is to reduce the CO₂ emissions of all newly registered European cars to an average of 140 grams of CO₂/km –
this is the commitment made by the Association of the European Automobile Industry to the European Union in 1998. In relative terms, this equals a reduction of CO₂ emissions versus 1995 by no less than 25 per cent.

Introducing BMW Hydrogen 7 and implementing hydrogen technology in the process of series development, the BMW Group – parallel to the ongoing reduction of pollutants in the gasoline and diesel engine – is now launching a philosophy able in the long term to reduce the CO₂ emissions of motor vehicles to a far greater extent. In this way the BMW Group is acting as the pacemaker, setting a truly outstanding example as the spearhead in technology.

The clear sign the BMW Group is sending out in introducing BMW Hydrogen 7 addresses not only specific groups of forward-looking users particularly oriented to innovation, but also all of the many network partners in politics, science and the energy industry acting together to promote and enhance a breakthrough into a new era of mobility.

The Transport Energy Strategy (TES) initiative launched by BMW and others in 1998 and supported by the German Federal Government has conducted a scientific study on more than 10 alternative fuels involving more than 70 methods of production. The clear result of the study is that in the long term hydrogen recovered in a regenerating process is by far the most future-oriented solution for clean motoring beneficial to the environment. The TES initiative is made up of the companies Aral/BP, the BMW Group, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors/Opel, RWE, Vattenfall, Shell, Total, and Volkswagen.

The future has a name: BMW CleanEnergy.

The promotion of hydrogen technology as the energy of the future is an important highlight of BMW’s CleanEnergy strategy: BMW CleanEnergy is the overriding term used to describe the ecologically ideal, self contained energy cycle based on water. For using energy from the sun, wind, hydro-power or biomass, hydrogen can be recovered and used in virtually unlimited amounts. BMW’s vision of sustained mobility free of pollutants therefore applies not “only� to the actual use of the vehicle, but also to the generation of the fuel it runs on.

Diversification of energy, greater independence and, in the long term, the replacement of fossil fuels as drive energy is ecologically and economically necessary, since this is the only way to reduce both CO₂ emissions and bottlenecks in supply in the long term. With its future-oriented drive concept, BMW Hydrogen 7 is therefore a pacemaker for sustained mobility fully compatible with the environment.

Establishing a suitable supply infrastructure.

Introducing BMW Hydrogen 7, the BMW Group is taking a powerful initiative for the expansion and development of hydrogen supply. And even though an all-embracing, worldwide network of hydrogen filling stations is still a vision today, the technical and logistical know-how required for this purpose is already largely in place.

To promote the development of hydrogen filling stations, the BMW Group has been involved in the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) Berlin ever since its establishment in 2002. Today, leading companies such as Aral, the Berlin Transport Authority (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, BVG), DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors/Opel, Volkswagen, Hydro, Linde, Total, and Vattenfall Europe all belong to the Clean Energy Partnership Berlin, proudly promoting one of Europe’s most important demonstration projects and, indeed, one of the largest projects of its kind in the world: The objective of the CEP is to further develop hydrogen as a source of energy, demonstrating the various options to use this innovative fuel in everyday transport.

The Clean Energy Partnership Berlin is part of Germany’s national
Strategy of Sustainability, one highlight of the CEP’s projects being the practical examination of fuel supply scenarios. To conduct this study under realistic conditions, two hydrogen filling stations were built in Berlin in November 2004 and March 2006, with a third hydrogen filling station scheduled for completion in Munich before the end of this year. These filling stations are able to supply motorists with both liquid and gaseous hydrogen. The BMW Group also plays an active role in the EU’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Platform and in the German Government’s National Innovation Programme. The Group’s international activities, in turn, include active participation in a research alliance launched by the US Department of Energy as well as the initiation of a hydrogen feasibility study and a hydrogen information campaign in China.

Description in Brief.

• World’s first hydrogen-powered luxury saloon for everyday use, trendsetting model within the BMW 7 Series based on the BMW 760Li, milestone in achieving a new standard of mobility free of pollutants and with full sustainability.

• Complete integration of hydrogen technology in the process of series development, driving dynamics and motoring refinement typical of BMW, wide range of premium comfort features, production parallel to the
  BMW 7, 6, and 5 Series at BMW Plant Dingolfing.

• Dual-mode twelve-cylinder combustion engine for a long cruising range and superior driving dynamics, based on BMW’s twelve-cylinder 6.0-litre gasoline engine featuring VALVETRONIC in the BMW 7 Series; maximum output 191 kW/260 hp, peak torque 390 Newton-metres/287 lb-ft at 4,300 rpm, acceleration to 100 km/h in 9.5 sec, top speed 230 km/h
  (143 mph), limited electronically.

• Direct fuel injection in the gasoline mode, external mixture formation with intake manifold injection in the hybrid mode, same engine output in both operating modes, smooth and consistent switchover with no time-lag from one operating mode to another, flexible engine management with VALVETRONIC and double-VANOS, nnovative injection valves as key technology for hydrogen drive.

• Hydrogen tank accommodating approx 8 kilos of liquid hydrogen, gasoline tank with a capacity of 74 litres or 16.3 Imp gals, liquid hydrogen as
  drive energy for a long cruising range and a high standard of everyday use, more than 200 kilometres/125 miles cruising range on hydrogen plus 500 kilometres/310 miles on gasoline.

• Engine emits virtually nothing but vapour in the hydrogen mode,
  practical solution for rapid reduction of CO₂ emissions and changeover to drive energy independent of fossil fuels, pacemaker for ongoing progress.

• Trendsetting vacuum super-insulation for the hydrogen tank, liquid hydrogen consistently and for a long time remaining at a temperature of
  – 253 °Celsius, same insulating effect as with a 17-metre-thick layer of styrofoam.

• Simple, clean and risk-free tank-filling process, tank filler manifold connected to liquid hydrogen filler pipe in the same way as with
  a conventional fuel pump, tank manifold and filling process locked in position and conducted by system control.

• High powerdome as a clear sign of distinction highlighting BMW Hydrogen 7, clear reference to the high-rising engine modified in its dimensions
  on account of hydrogen injection valves, weight- and crash-optimised combination of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFP) and steel body components.

• Modifications inside the car: rear seat bench moved 115 millimetres/4.5´´ further to the front than in the BMW 760Li due to the arrangement of the hydrogen tank and 25 millimetres/1.0´´ further to the rear than in the
  BMW 760i, centre console fitted firmly on the rear seat bench on account of the car’s package, four seats, special hydrogen function displays in
  the cockpit.

• Independent, non-partisan safety certification, successful completion of comprehensive test series conducted by the South German Technical Inspection Authority (TÃœV South Germany), sensor-based control system operating independently of the engine, hydrogen components with multiple redundancy/back-up.

• Chassis and suspension with double-joint tiebar spring strut axle at the front and integral-IV multi-arm axle at the rear, BMW AdaptiveDrive
  with anti-roll stabilisation and electronic damper control, telemetric TPC Tyre Pressure Control system.

• Innovative remote diagnosis system, direct dialogue with driver/vehicle user.

• First series production car based on decades of BMW experience in testing hydrogen as a drive technology, development and examination of hydrogen engines since the 1980s.

• Promotion of nationwide hydrogen supply infrastructure by the
  BMW Group in close cooperation with the Clean Energy Partnership Berlin, BMW Hydrogen 7 acting as a series production hydrogen car for everyday use and establishing new momentum for ongoing development and expansion of a complete, all-round network of filling stations.