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Monday, March 19, 2007

Criticisms Abound Despite BMW’s Hydrogen 7 Innovations

The March/April edition of Technology Review includes in interesting review by David Talbot covering BMW’s Hydrogen 7 automobile. As the car’s name implies, it is an H₂-fired machine. However, BMW’s spin on this hydrogen vehicle is an unconventional reliance upon tried-and-true internal combustion (IC) to provide motive power. Other manufacturers with hydrogen aspirations are looking to put fuel cells under the hood, for example Honda’s FCX Fuel Cell Vehicle, to capitalize on the high energy conversion efficiency afforded by fuel cell technology. BMW’s IC interpretation on H₂ enables vehicles that burn both gasoline and hydrogen – creating a flex fuel vehicle of a different color than ethanol yellow not reliant upon Bush’s fairytale hydrogen economy to get from A to B.

Unfortunately, Talbot’s Tech Review article buries the BMW Hydrogen 7 before putting the key into the ignition. Talbot cites a calculation by Dr. Joseph Romm, formerly of the Department of Energy, that estimates driving 1000 miles in a hydrogen car dumps 2,100 pounds of CO₂ into the atmosphere while 1000 miles in a conventional car produces just 485 pounds of CO₂. This calculation assumes that the hydrogen is generated using electrons originating from a coal-fired power plant! Talbot and Romm could have been a bit kinder by noting that there exist more environmentally-benign (albeit less technically mature) hydrogen production methods; most notably use of renewable power sources combined with reversible fuel cells. Even deriving hydrogen from natural gas is potentially less polluting than brute-force electrolysis driven by a coal plant.

While hydrogen as an energy carrier has its problems, the bigger challenge remains lack of a clear path for the automotive industry to provide the US with cars that meet our perceived transportation needs while eliminating pollution and dependency on foreign fossil fuels. Each manufacturer seems to have its pet approach, but none has yet to invent a silver-bullet solution embraced by the market. As case in point, check out this month’s Design News feature article on the Chevy Volt and the associated commentary between bloggers Chuck Murry (“About Those Electric Vehicles...”) and John Dodge (“What about the Chevy Volt, Chuck!?”).

Hydrogen-fired vehicles may not be the right answer, but at least BMW had the courage to put a new twist on an old technology and attempt to take it for a spin. The easiest way to fail in this quest for a sustainable planet is surely to stop innovating.

Related entries in: Design News | Electronics/Test |

(Add your comments)

at 7/15/2008 1:01:07 PM, wo795h@att.com said:
Let's see.... If you burn Hydrogen in the presense of Oxygen, the result is water... Nowhere there did I see ANY carbon compounds... So; Where did all the CO2 referenced by Mr Talbot come from??? There is NO CO2 produced by using Hydrogen as a fuel in a motor vehicle! In fact, Hydrogen is a negative polluting fuel; the more you burn, the cleaner the air gets as other pollutants are captured an converted to solids that "fall out".

at 7/15/2008 1:01:37 PM, Gearhead said:
Another point not mentioned regarding H2 "fired" vehicles, is the fact that a higher percentage of our atmosphere is composed of Nitrogen. Normal combustion byproduct of any "burn" includes Nitrous Oxide, a major polutant now doing big damage to our planet''s eco system. Face it. It''s either H2 fuel cells, batteries or some form of electromotive means. And all must be derived from nuclear sources until someone pulls the plug on excessive grants to study every other useless matter and apply total focus on fusion energy. H2 will only be a means of transporting energy unless a renewable battery can be discovered.

at 7/15/2008 1:08:37 PM, haze said:
I believe the CO2 from Hydrogen mentioned in the article refers to the upstream emissions that come from producing the hydrogen. Similarly, a plug in electric vehicle produces no emissions while driving, but there are still emissions associated with the production of electricity used to charge the vehicle. these are issues that have to be considered to get a full view of the situation.

at 7/15/2008 1:11:02 PM, The Case for Nuke Cars said:
Go to: //www.caranddriver.com/features/columns/c_d_staff/patrick_bedard/the_case_for_nuke_cars_it_s_called_hydrogen_column Then do the math.

at 7/15/2008 2:36:17 PM, Steve said:
It seems to me that burning hydrogen directly in an ic engine makes more sense and would be cheaper by a large margin than fuel cells. As for the 1000 lbs of CO2 from generating the hydrogen, the same would be true if it was being used in a fuel cell rather than an ic engine. It would be far easier (and cheaper) to convert existing vehicles to hydrogen/gasoline burning than to fuel cell/electric.

at 7/16/2008 7:37:23 AM, Rainmaker said:
It is disappointing to read such close-mindedness in an engineering blog. H2 combustion is a great carbon-free solution and NOx emissions are very effectively reacted out in the exhaust stream. True, the electricity for electrolysis needs to come from renewable resources to be carbon free but that industry is booming. Hasn't anyone seen the thousands of wind turbines generating 4,000,000,000+ watts in West Texas?

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