Anthony J. Ochs

Imagine driving in a brand new groundbreaking hydrogen car. Yet you run into one minor problem. You need more hydrogen yet you cannot find a filling station. You keep driving yet all you see are increasing gasoline prices as you pass by Exxon, Mobil, BP, Getty, etc. $3.29 a gallon, $3.40 a gallon, $3.50 a gallon, $4.00 a gallon, yet still no hydrogen! This is because you are essentially driving around in a concept that has not caught up with the rest of the world yet.

BMW feels they may have a temporary solution. They have created a hydrogen fuel cell automobile based on their popular 7 series. The BMW hydrogen 7 has already been sold to and tested by a select group of people. Since we are still at the beginning stages of hydrogen infrastructures, BMW has decided to make what some may consider a unique ‘hybrid’ of their own. The Hydrogen 7 can run on hydrogen or gasoline. The most amazing thing is that unlike popular hybrid electric cars of today, the driver chooses the mode he or she wants the car to run on, and it all happens with the quick and easy push of a button! Yet when the driver pushes the button on the steering wheel the car does not jump to a super hydrogen light speed as one may assume. The torque of the hydrogen motor and gasoline engine in the 7 is relatively the same making for a genuinely smooth transition.

BMW’s commitment to a future of zero emissions is evident yet also realistic with the introduction of their “CleanEnergy strategy”. Their realization is that things do not happen overnight. The hydrogen 7 has the potential to be the most prominent “green” car thus far. With a very limited network of hydrogen filling stations it is highly unlikely hydrogen will truly catch on any time soon. Yet the Hydrogen 7 provides the opportunity to switch to conventional gasoline whenever needed. This will allow the public to be introduced to the concept of hydrogen without taking the risk of being entirely committed to it. Us “green car” enthusiasts can only hope that the automobile industry’s transition from gasoline to hydrogen is as smooth as pressing a button. BMW has made this metaphorically possible with the invention of the Hydrogen 7.[1]

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