BMW Hydrogen 7 - production-ready, hydrogen-gasoline V12 Saloon

Liquid hydrogen – the energy of the future

Ever since the start of research and development in this area, the BMW Group has given preference to the use of liquid hydrogen as the appropriate source of energy for the automobile. Compared with gaseous and highly compressed hydrogen, liquid, cryogenic hydrogen offers much higher energy density.

And comparing the amount of energy stored in a tank of the same size as cryogenic, liquid hydrogen as opposed to a car tank with gaseous hydrogen compressed to 700 bar, we see that liquid hydrogen has the advantage of offering 75 per cent more energy. Clearly, therefore, a vehicle running on liquid hydrogen has a correspondingly longer cruising range with all the practical benefits involved.

Dual-mode combustion engine for enhanced flexibility. In judging the everyday qualities of a new drive concept, the practical cruising range offered by a car is one of the most important criteria. But apart from consumption figures and the tank capacity in a car, we must also consider the existing fuel supply infrastructure.

Right now there is not yet a full network of hydrogen filling stations. Hence, vehicles running on hydrogen alone can only be used within certain limits on public roads and do not offer the flexibility naturally expected by the customer.

Precisely this is why the BMW Group, introducing the world’s first hydrogen car for everyday use, is opting for dual-mode drive technology, with the combustion engine of BMW Hydrogen 7 being able to run on both hydrogen and gasoline.

The cruising range of the car in the hydrogen mode is more than 200 kilometres, with another 500 kilometres in the gasoline mode. As a result, the driver of a BMW Hydrogen 7 benefits from virtually unlimited mobility and is able to use his vehicle without problems even when far away from the nearest hydrogen filling station.

Dual-mode drive technology

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