Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - 12:30 PM

The BMW Hydrogen 7 Program: Lessons Learned and Progress Toward Commercialization

Jason P. Perron1, Werner Lehner2, Klaus Pehr2, and Franz Amaseder2. (1) BMW of North America, Inc., (2) BMW AG

The BMW Hydrogen 7 program involves 100 BMW 7 Series internal combustion engine vehicles manufactured in a serial production process.  The “H7” vehicles include both bi-fuel (hydrogen and gasoline) and mono-fuel (hydrogen) variants.  Running in hydrogen mode, the BMW Hydrogen 7 essentially emits essentially water vapor, representing a major step in reducing CO2 emissions.  The car features a dual combustion engine with two fuel tanks – one for hydrogen and one for gasoline, which may be switched from one to the other seamlessly with the simple push of a button on the steering wheel. The BMW Hydrogen 7 is made for customer hands and therefore it is considered to be a milestone in bringing forward hydrogen as the sustainable fuel for individual transportation.  The BMW Hydrogen 7 has successfully completed the entire product development process obligatory for all new BMWs.  In this process, all components of the new technology were integrated into the overall vehicle according to the same challenging criteria applied to “regular” production vehicles.  The knowledge gained has not only made a decisive contribution to the everyday driving qualities of the BMW Hydrogen 7, but it will also significantly impact the development and production of future hydrogen vehicle concepts, with the principle of dual-mode drive and the features of other components now going through the strict test of everyday driving practice. First launched in November 2006, the Hydrogen 7’s have been driven by thousands of people ranging from the world-famous to everyday people, providing feedback and reactions to the experience.  This paper will describe experiences and status to date for the H7 fleet, including input from drivers throughout the world.