BMW: Engine for Hydrogen
If hydrogen fails as a transportation fuel, nobody can blame BMW, which has built prototype hydrogen-gasoline internal-combustion engines for years and is now touting a version (at left) that’s undergone rigorous product development. BMW plans to give 100 luxury hydrogen cars next year to politicians, celebrities, and other people who can promote hydrogen. The engine can generate 260 horsepower, something a full-size electric car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell cannot now do, says Thomas Korn, senior project engineer for BMW’s hydrogen program in Oxnard, CA. Although hydrogen combustion leads to the formation of nitrogen oxides, BMW’s new car has sophisticated control systems that minimize those pollutants by optimizing hydrogen concentrations and engine timing. But will it ever make it to the mass market? It’s a long shot, says John Heywood, director of the Sloan Automotive Laboratory at MIT. Despite the need for cleaner cars, he says, “a feeling is growing that, really, hydrogen isn’t a particularly convenient way of doing all of this.”
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets
When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.
The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.
Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.