BMW HYDROGEN 7 HITS THE ROAD WITH THE 2008 HYDROGEN ROAD TOUR
Source: BMW Group In America
Aug 12, 2008 - 3:50:46 PM
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BMW Hydrogen 7 Joins Department of Transportation, Department of Energy and
Leading Automakers on a Two-Week Tour of 31 Cities, August 11 - August
23
Portland, ME - August 11, 2008... The BMW Hydrogen 7 -- the first
hydrogen-powered luxury sedan -- joins an unprecedented cross-country journey
featuring hydrogen-powered cars by the world's leading automakers in the 2008
Hydrogen Road Tour.
From August 11 - 23, the hydrogen powered convoy will
travel from Portland, Maine to Santa Monica, California with one goal: to call
on congressional leaders to support the creation of a nationwide hydrogen
fueling station infrastructure.
The Hydrogen Road Tour is a partnership
with the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, the
California Fuel Cell Partnership and the National Hydrogen Association. In
addition to BMW, participants include Daimler, GM, Honda, Hyundai-Kia, Nissan,
Toyota, and VW. Also part of this broad coalition are hydrogen fuel providers
Linde, BMW's hydrogen fuel partner for the Tour, and Air Products.
"BMW
has already logged nearly 2 million miles in our fleet of 100 BMW Hydrogen 7s.
Being on this tour will show more people that hydrogen is truly the best
alternative transportation fuel. An internal combustion engine, powered by
hydrogen should play an important role in the future of sustainable mobility,"
said Tom Baloga, BMW Vice President of Engineering, US.
What is most
unusual about the Hydrogen Road Tour is the partnership between the world's
leading automakers, key federal departments, influential non-governmental
organizations and hydrogen fuel providers to bring the reality of practical,
clean energy to our nation's legislators and the public. The tour will visit key
members of Congress in their home states to allow them the opportunity to see
and drive these cars.
BMW Hydrogen 7 is the only car on the tour that
stores liquid hydrogen to power an internal combustion engine. Hydrogen is one
of the cleanest energy sources available producing zero emissions. Essentially
the only tailpipe emission is water vapor.
Mono-fuel Hydrogen 7 actually
cleans the air
The tour fleet will include the mono-fuel version of the
BMW Hydrogen 7, equipped with a V12 internal combustion engine (ICE) which has
been engineered to run exclusively on hydrogen. It was created to showcase the
zero CO2 and low emissions potential and feasibility of a dedicated hydrogen
internal combustion engine (ICE).
The Hydrogen 7's V12 mono-fuel ICE
produces no CO2 and near-zero emissions, while not sacrificing performance. In
fact, the tailpipe emissions are so infinitesimal they pushed the limits of
current emission testing technology.
Independent authorities, including
the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), have confirmed these results. ANL
conducted emission tests on BMW Hydrogen 7 mono-fuel vehicles in early March
2008 and found that not only were the emissions infinitesimally small but when
running, the vehicle actually cleaned the air.
Exhaust emissions clean
enough to drink
Recent studies have also confirmed the water emitted by
the Hydrogen 7 is, in fact, safe to drink.
Exhaust from the mono-fuel
Hydrogen 7 tested by FGL Environmental was found to be well within the limits
set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for safe drinking water
standards. The Maximum Contaminant Limit, abbreviated MCL, is the maximum limit
set by the EPA for chemicals found in drinking water. Results showed the MCL
from mono-fuel H7 emissions to be in compliance with the health safety
standards.
BMW Hydrogen 7 on the road
For more than a year, the
BMW fleet of bi-fuel Hydrogen 7s has been an important milestone on the road to
a hydrogen future, with more than 150 people driving nearly 2 million miles so
far. The Pioneer Program, as it is called, has provided the flexibility of being
able to gather real-world driving experience driving on hydrogen with the peace
of mind that comes from knowing you won't run out of fuel. In addition to the
BMW hydrogen pioneers, hundreds of people from academia, students, media, as
well as the general public, have had the opportunity to experience the BMW
Hydrogen 7.
Follow the Tour online at www.hydrogenroadtour.com. Learn
more about the BMW Hydrogen 7 at http://bmwcleanenergy.com. With a
nationwide hydrogen infrastructure in place - the goal of the Hydrogen Road Tour
- the hydrogen future would be a reality.
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 of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, 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 models, X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and
X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in
the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports
Activity Vehicle centers, 142 BMW motorcycle retailers, 82 MINI passenger car
dealers, and 30 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.
Information about BMW Group products is
available to consumers via the Internet
at:
www.bmwgroupna.com
www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorcycles.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com
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