BMW has been active in the development of hydrogen as an automotive fuel for many years but they have taken a distinctly different path from virtually every other automaker. Instead of fuel cells, BMW has stuck to internal combustion engines and, rather than compressed gas, it has used liquified hydrogen. The problem with the former is that gasoline and hydrogen have very different combustion characteristics and engines designed primarily for gasoline operation lose a lot of power and efficiency when running on hydrogen.
Researchers from BMW have collaborated with colleagues from HOERBIGER, the Graz University of Technology, and HyCentA to develop an engine optimized for hydrogen operation. The cylinder head is based on one from a diesel engine using similar geometry. The injection system has been replaced with a high pressure direct injection setup. The engine uses a combination of spark ignition and compression ignition to match the 42 percent efficiency of the best current turbodiesel engines. BMW plans to further improve the overall efficiency of future iterations, by utilizing the waste heat from the exhaust.
Engines based on this technology will likely appear in future hydrogen-fueled vehicles from BMW.
[Source: BMW]
Continue reading BMW cranks up the efficiency of hydrogen internal combustion engines
BMW cranks up the efficiency of hydrogen internal combustion engines originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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