As it marks its 25th birthday, BMW Forschung und Technik (Research and Technology) GmbH has premiered two projects that could both slash fuel consumption and emissions in the future.
The first, is a prototype fuel cell hybrid vehicle (pictured below) that has been designed to offer emission-free mobility in city traffic. The second is an on-board reformer that produces hydrogen from conventional hydrocarbon fuel.
The fuel cell hybrid is a prototype based on a BMW 1 Series with a 5kW fuel cell APU from UTC Power and a four cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor. Its size has been optimised for use at low speeds and in city traffic the electrical energy generated is continuously supplied to high performance capacitors that have outstanding high power density and robustness. They cover the performance peaks for acceleration and taking off at traffic lights with the electric motor resuming the normal function of a generator during coasting and phasing.
All of its drive components have been optimised with the APU positioned under the engine hood with the internal combustion engine, while the electric motor takes the place of the rear wheel axle differential. The supercapacitor pack replaces the gearbox and the conventional drive train is mounted in the central tunnel. With reduced space required for the petrol tank, there is plenty of room for a hydrogen tank to take its place.
Though it has mainly been known for its work with hydrogen fuelled internal combustion engines, BMW has been researching a low-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell technology since 1997.
As for its second project, BMW has integrated reformer technology into an otherwise standard five-door BMW 1 Series. This creates fewer emissions during cold starts which normally present a difficult scenario to meet increasingly stringent emission regulations.
The reformer technology intervenes and reduces the level of engine out emissions. It can be used in both petrol and diesel engines but is currently only at the prototype stage.
