Report: BMW hydrogen-electric hybrid drivetrain could see use in Mini lineup

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/04/15/report-bmw-hydrogen-electric-hybrid-drivetrain-could-see-use-i/

Report: BMW hydrogen-electric hybrid drivetrain could see use in Mini lineup

by Eric Loveday (RSS feed) on Apr 15th 2010 at 3:00PM

Not too long ago we learned that BMW was secretly http://green.autoblog.com/2010/03/29/bmw-technik-working-on-hybrid-fuel-cell-1-series-concept/">working on a hydrogen hybrid powertrain. Then, just days ago, we brought http://green.autoblog.com/2010/04/12/spy-shots-bmw-1-series-hydrogen-hybrid-spotted-testing/">spy shots of the real deal caught in action. Yep, that's a modified front-wheel drive 1 Series pictured sporting both hydrogen and electric components. Now there's even more to this developing story.

As Autocar reports, this http://www.scribd.com/doc/29060453/Attachment-117441-2010-03-Efficient-Dynamics-English">complex drivetrain/powertrain could also make its way into the Mini lineup. Why choose Mini, a more budget-friendly brand than BMW for this costly setup? We don't know for sure, but can bet that it has something to do with the simple fact that a Mini is already a FWD vehicle. Another possibility is that the company hopes to conduct field trials of the powertrain in a timely manner and Minis are available on short order. Despite the Mini's small size, the hydrogen hybrid will squeeze into the tight confines. This would allow BMW to keep the 1 Series as it should be, rear-wheel drive only.

Now that we know where BMW is likely to utilize this powertrain, one more question still remains to be answered: Will this combined hydrogen and electric setup bring supporters of each technology together or drive them further apart?

[NYC_SKP]

1. So, this has a gasoline engine, a PEM fuel cell, and an electric motor?

And super capacitors, and hydrogen tanks, and, presumably, a gasoline tank, and maybe lithium ion batteries down the road.

Seems a bit much.

:shrug:

[Statistical]

2. Yeah it does seem unecessarily complex.

As a test vehicle it allows them to tests lots of combinations but I can't see a production vehicle using all three.

Fuel Cells are expensive. That costs is partially offset by getting rid of ICE and all the associated gears, pulleys, emission systems.

Installing a $10K+ fuel cell while keeping the engine and a large bank of batteries ($5K+) all of which are heavy seems to not make any sense.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Re: Fuel Cells are expensive.

(As are batteries.)

However, a number of major manufacturers claim they will have fuel cell automobiles on the market in 2015. Key to this effort is getting the cost of fuel cells down.

One way to get the cost down is to cut (or eliminate) platinum content. Here's one approach which shows promise:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1170051

Science 3 April 2009:
Vol. 324. no. 5923, pp. 71 - 74
DOI: 10.1126/science.1170051

Reports

Iron-Based Catalysts with Improved Oxygen Reduction Activity in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Michel Lefèvre, Eric Proietti, Frédéric Jaouen, Jean-Pol Dodelet

Iron-based catalysts for the oxygen-reduction reaction in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells have been poorly competitive with platinum catalysts, in part because they have a comparatively low number of active sites per unit volume. We produced microporous carbon–supported iron-based catalysts with active sites believed to contain iron cations coordinated by pyridinic nitrogen functionalities in the interstices of graphitic sheets within the micropores. We found that the greatest increase in site density was obtained when a mixture of carbon support, phenanthroline, and ferrous acetate was ball-milled and then pyrolyzed twice, first in argon, then in ammonia. The current density of a cathode made with the best iron-based electrocatalyst reported here can equal that of a platinum-based cathode with a loading of 0.4 milligram of platinum per square centimeter at a cell voltage of ≥0.9 volt.

Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunication, Varennes, Québec J3X 1S2, Canada.

...

[Statistical]

4. I agree fuel cells will get cheaper however...

even "cheap fuel cells" will be expensive relative to price of a vehicle.

It just doesn't make any sense to me to combine ICE + fuel cell + batteries all in the same vehicle.

I mean you need to fuel up on gasoline & hydrogen. You have the cost of internal combustion engine AND fuel cell. You have weight of gasoline tank AND hydrogen tank AND batteries.

Personally I think fuel cells that can operate on light hydrocarbons natively (likely natural gas) will be the first to gain significant penetration.

We already have CNG vehicles. A CNG fuel cells vs CNG interal combustion operate similarly except fuel cell uses less fuel and has less emissions.

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. The combination of ICE + fuel cell + batteries is interesting

Like you, I suspect it is a test bed arrangement.

[Statistical]

6. As a testbed vehicle it is pretty cool.

I mean jam it full of sensors and collect a lot of real world data on efficiencies under actual driving conditions.