The BMW 750hL is an example of a hydrogen powered car. Vehicles like this will be seen on the road sometime in the future as renewable energy technology plays an ever increasing role in the design and function of motor vehicles.
VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS
- Hybrid 5.4 liter 12-cylinder combustion engine
- 2 independently controlled fuel induction systems allowing the vehicle to run on gasoline or hydrogen
- high torque and acceleration
liquid hydrogen tank gives it range up to 400 kilometers.
How the Car Produces Hydrogen Power
The technical name for the hydrogen powered engine is the "BMW Clean Energy System". The system involves making liquid hydrogen from water through the use of solar power. The light from the sun is collected by the photo voltaic array which turns it into electricity. The electricity created in this process is then used to split water into 2 parts: Hydrogen and Oxygen. The oxygen goes into the atmosphere as water vapor, but the hydrogen is turned into a liquid at a very low temperature (-253 Celsius). This is the fuel that the 750hL runs on. The liquid hydrogen is is converted into electricity by an innovative fuel cell battery. In a regular gasoline powered vehicle, the fumes emitted during combustion are released into the atmosphere. This does not happen in the 750hL. During combustion, hydrogen and oxygen are combined and the energy from this reaction is what makes the vehicle run. The excess hydrogen goes back into the environment in the form of water. There are practically no harmful emissions created or released by the BMW 750hL. In cooperation with the Shell Oil Company, BMW now has the ability to set up an operational hydrogen fueling station where the liquid hydrogen will go directly from the filling station and into the car.
**********The world's first fully operational
and automated hydrogen filling station was opened in 1999