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Can BMW’s hydrogen car succeed?

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20
Nov

BMW stunned Dubai this week with its 750hL hydrogen-powered car. Can this be the end of petrol as a fuel? Or is automotive technology moving into the realms of fantasy? This week Dubai plays host to the BMW Clean Energy Tour, which brings to the emirate the world’s most environmentally friendly car, the hydrogen-fuelled BMW 750hL seven series.  So is hydrogen about to replace petrol to fuel cars? Not any time soon, concedes BMW. Even when produced tax-free, hydrogen is 8-10 times more expensive than petrol at the Western filling stations.  And while large-scale production would bring this cost down, it is hard to imagine that gap closing very fast. There would also need to be a huge investment in hydrogen filling stations. Indeed, BMW’s Middle East MD Robert Bailey-McEwan says that in 2020 at least 70% of cars will still be powered by petrol, and it may not be until 2050 that the majority of vehicles are hydrogen fuelled. But why the confidence about the changeover to hydrogen? Mr Bailey-McEwan says that the pressure to cut fuel emissions is growing exponentially worldwide, and that there will be no other way. Hydrogen is the most environmentally friendly fuel, as it only emission is steam, pure water.  Where BMW Group is ahead of other automobile manufactures is in producing a car that can handle both petrol and hydrogen as a fuel source. This twin-fuelling is essential, as manufacturers realise that hydrogen may not always be readily available in a changeover period. One car with two fuels requires a huge amount of technical innovation, and BMW boasts that its 750hL model offers equally powerful performance using either petrol or hydrogen. Later this week at the Burj Al Arab hotel, 300 Dubai officials and VIPs will be the first people in the Middle East to test-drive the 750hL car on the first leg of its world tour.  The event is supported by the Dubai-based Zayed International Prize for the Environment, and the Dubai Government has already expressed interest in becoming a centre for hydrogen production using solar energy, of which the emirate has an abundance.  But the question remains, will hydrogen ever really take off as a fuel? BMW has had prototype hydrogen cars since the 1960s, this is the first production model.  Yet if the world is not to suffocate in petrol fumes in the near future, hydrogen fuel will probably have to be part of the equation. However, the reality of hydrogen production technology will have to catch up with the technical vision of BMW. Would that mean the end of oil wealth for the Middle East? Definitely not. Only 10% of crude oil output is consumed by the automobiles of the world.  

And if solar energy is used to produce hydrogen, then clearly the Middle East would be a logical option for European producers as the closest source of reliable sunny weather. No wonder Dubai is interested in this novel concept.

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