BMW to Participate in Research Project With Hydrogen-Powered 7 Series Cars

US Department of Energy approves Hydrogen fuel demonstration project

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., April 27 -- The U. S. Department of Energy today awarded a grant to a partnership, which includes BMW and is led by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., for a combined research project titled "Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration Project." The goal of the project is to study hydrogen as a fuel in real-world driving conditions. This 5-year program will use Federal funds, as well as donations from partnership members, to finance construction and testing of 24 hydrogen filling stations in California. Due to the nature of the project, the stations will vary from using renewable resources such as wind power to using a hydrogen pipeline. Some stations will be fixed; others will be relocatable.

Partnership members Toyota, Honda and Nissan will contribute a total of 65 fuel-cell powered vehicles to the project. BMW, as the leader in hydrogen internal combustion engines will provide up to 15 7 Series cars, the only test vehicles using proven internal-combustion engines.

"The BMW Group has been engaged in the research and development of liquid hydrogen technology for over 20 years based on the belief that automobiles in the future will not be powered by fossil fuels as they are today," noted BMW of North America's Karl-Heinz Ziwica, Vice-President - Engineering U.S. "Our research has demonstrated that hydrogen is completely viable as a fuel and the technology exists to advance its use in vehicles with internal combustion engines or with fuel cells. However, the more challenging step to the realization of hydrogen-powered vehicles is the development of a supporting infrastructure of fueling stations and service facilities. This requires the cooperation of a significant group of partners and BMW is honored to be a part of the group brought together by the DOE."

"DOE should be applauded for initiating this far-reaching developmental project to sustain the world's energy supply," said Chris Sutton, VP and General Manager of EPI at Air Products. "This is the first significant funding at the national level since President Bush's stated goal of supporting establishment of a hydrogen economy. On behalf of the entire project team, we are all excited about this opportunity to take a leadership role in the continuing development and commercialization of the global hydrogen economy. This is a step toward the goal of having all key entities work together to solve important and critical issues and direct resources to gain real-world experience on fueling stations and feedback on vehicle infrastructure and hydrogen delivery technologies."

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger car centers, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 76 MINI passenger car dealers, and 25 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.