BMW 7 Series Hydrogen - Rare Production Car Makes Its Way to the Green

Special to The Auto Channel
By Marty Bernstein
AIADA Contributing Editor

As thousands of golf fans entered the main gate of the Cog Hill golf course near Chicago earlier this month for the BMW Championship, a gigantic globe, actually a round tent, with graphics of the earth from outer space was hard to miss.
           
Walking toward the globe, dubbed the “Earth Lounge,” was a pair of silver BMW 7 Series cars that looked like every other luxurious BMW 7 Series – all, except for the rather large graphic of “Clean Energy” on the side, a chrome “Hydrogen 7” logo on the trunk lid, and an odd receptacle circle on the c-pillar. Looking inside, there’s just a little button on the steering wheel with the designation of the hydrogen molecule, H2.

Ah, but out of sight in the trunk, under the vehicle and under the hood is the result of a several million dollar (Euros) quarter-century investment by BMW to significantly reduce gasoline fuel consumption and CO2 emissions through the use of technologically advanced hybrid systems, especially hydrogen. 

BMW believes hydrogen will replace petroleum as the long-term alternative to fossil fuel and hopes the Hydrogen 7 will play a pioneering role in driving forward the hydrogen technologies that will ensure our mobility in the future. Hydrogen, derived from water, is the most abundant material on earth.

From the Outside Looking In and Under

As I walked around the Hydrogen 7, Bert Holland, BMW’s advanced strategy manager, told me, “This technology dramatically reduces emissions generated by fossil fuel vehicles, and, in particular, minimizes the emission of CO2. Running in the hydrogen mode – it can also run on gas. The BMW Hydrogen 7 essentially emits nothing but water vapor through the tail pipe.” 
 
The hydrogen tank of “fuel” is neatly hidden in a space between the rear seat and the trunk. The elongated cylinder, comprising an inner and outer tank, holds 17.5 pounds of liquid hydrogen at 418 degrees Fahrenheit, under high pressure.

The inner tank is encased in 40 thin layers of aluminum foil – this provides insulation equivalent to a Styrofoam jacket 56 feet wide. Safety tests were conducted to prevent the hydrogen from escaping accidentally.   

In the hydrogen power mode, the hydrogen evaporates in the tank in a controlled manner, generating a slight positive pressure which sends the gaseous hydrogen to the engine as fuel. All processes are controlled through dedicated electronic systems.  Special attention has been given to a revised chassis design, the passenger cabin and sides were strengthened.

Under the hood, the V-12 engine needed re-engineering to handle the extremely high combustion temperature of hydrogen. Two control units were needed and a special piston with cooling channels to withstand high temperature.

From the Inside Looking Out and Driving

The BMW 7 series is the flagship of The Ultimate Driving Machine brand. The accustomed comforts and amenities are still apparent: plugging in the “key” and pressing the start/off button, the big 260 hp engine started as always – quietly, very quietly. 

A new window in the information instrument cluster section showed the car was in the H2 operational mode and another gauge detailed the amount (pounds) of hydrogen remaining in the tank. That was the only change in the cabin.

Driving the dual-power vehicle was interesting: shifting from gasoline to hydrogen power did not produce a lag or a reduction in power. It was seamless on both the flats and when driving up-hill.  Accelerating up-hill from gas to H2 did create a brief, nano-second long gap – barely noticeable.  Every other attribute of a BMW 7 remains intact. Unchanged. Remarkable.

Don’t Call This A Concept Car… Please!

Holland emphasized the Hydrogen 7 is not a concept car, “It is a production model that has successfully completed the entire BMW Product Development Process, meeting all the standards necessary for driving on U.S. roadways.

Only one hundred of the new vehicles will be produced by the end of the year at a BMW factory in Germany; twenty-five will arrive in the United States. When asked why BMW launched the H2 in the über expensive 7 Series, Holland explained it was “top down” marketing.

The Celebrity Constituency 

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt emerge from a BMW Hydrogen 7 at the Ocean’s 13 premiere in Hollywood.

BMW’s top down marketing has led to the establishment of the Hydrogen 7 Pioneer Program, in which the company will provide BMW Hydrogen 7s to industry leaders and prominent figures in entertainment, politics, and business for daily use.

These are celebrities who are at the forefront of their respective disciplines and crafts, and who have expressed concerns about the environment, especially global warming, CO2 and fossil fuel. BMW hopes to generate their support of hydrogen-drive vehicles in the short-term and stimulate demand for a viable hydrogen infrastructure in the long-term.

The first A-list celeb to be awarded a Hydrogen 7 vehicle was Will Farrell, a long-time driver of environmentally friendly cars: “I am immensely honored with the opportunity to be one of the first people in the world to drive, what I consider to be, the car of the future. It’s my hope that hydrogen and alternative fuels become more prevalent in the near future.”

And the celebrity red carpet is filling up: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie chose the H2 car to arrive at the "Ocean’s 13" premiere in Hollywood; Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori at the FOX All-Star Party in Santa Monica; Richard Gere and Sharon Stone at the Cinema for Peace Gala in Berlin; and, "An Inconvenient Truth" producer Davis Guggenheim (Oscar® for the best Documentary Feature).  

I interviewed Oscar-winning actor and environmental activist Morgan Freeman, who played in the Pro-Am at the BMW Championship, about hydrogen-powered cars. His first response: “Don’t ask how I shot.” He then added, “Hydrogen is a way for the future. You can drive a car with absolutely no particles to the environment. The only exhaust you get is drinkable water… practically, a no-brainer in terms of trying to figure out how to do it economically. BMW has been working on this for 25 years. So, it’s not just a new thing for them.”

Obviously, there are a few hurdles to climb before hydrogen is able to propel vehicles and gain wide acceptance. First and foremost is finding a source of hydrogen. Currently, there are but a few H2 service stations in America and it is unknown the expense involved in developing the necessary infrastructure to support the fuel in the mass market. A lack of consumer knowledge about hydrogen, other than dirigibles, is another issue.

The facts, notwithstanding, BMW has embarked on a new power source with its usual dedication and devotion to engineering excellence. 

Comedian Jay Leno Latest Celeb to Earn Keys to BMW’s Hydrogen 7 Jay Leno will became the latest person to receive keys to a BMW Hydrogen 7 – the first hydrogen-powered luxury sedan. The Emmy-winning comedian and host of The Tonight Show received his BMW Hydrogen 7 at his famed car garage in Burbank, California, which is fittingly a “green garage” that receives a great deal of its energy from steam power. “As an avid car enthusiast I’m always interested in the future of automotive technology. With the BMW Hydrogen 7 I can experience all the fun and great features of a performance car, yet know that I’m being environmentally friendly at the same time! I look forward to driving the Hydrogen 7 and learning more about hydrogen as a fuel for our future,” Leno remarked. In his “green garage,” Jay uses giant steam and natural gas engines from the 19th century to effectively reduce his energy needs – transforming his garage into a self-sufficient power station. According to Jay, there is no reason why a garage full of old cars can’t be environmentally responsible, even if it means having to go back more than a century for the technology. Working with expert consultants in a variety of fields to analyze his garage’s energy use and devise alternative energy systems, Jay is committed to upgrading his nearly 20,000-sq.-ft. garage with the latest environmentally friendly shop equipment and products – and driving the BMW Hydrogen 7 is his latest example of this. Leno is one of the first Americans who BMW plans to announce in the coming months that will help the company in its mission to build widespread support of hydrogen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.