BMW has been leading the charge into the Hydrogen economy for several years.  Four years ago, a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles set off on a trip that didn't end for eighteen months, spanning the world.  The goal - to introduce the new breed of motor vehicle to thought and political leaders around the world.

When the first BMW test vehicles were driven twenty years ago, nobody took any notice. This changed with the BMW CleanEnergy World Tour: now the BMW hydrogen fleet is a hot topic. Presented for the first time at the EXPO 2000, the BMW 750hLs have covered 170,000 km (100,000 miles) on roads all around the world without any problems, providing impressive evidence of their everyday utility value. In Berlin, Brussels and Milan, Dubai, Los Angeles and Tokyo they demonstrated what the future of environmentally compatible mobility will look like.

An entirely new infrastructure is necessary for the creation, distribution and use of hydrogen, and it is an issue of interest to more than just the economic and industrial powers in the world. The most important contribution politicians could make is to create a secure legal framework which facilitate the introduction of the new energy source and which make hydrogen a viable fuel for all.

A brief comparison illustrates the point: the first petrol filling stations were built in the early twenties in Europe; a fully extensive network was not established in rural areas until the fifties. The change to hydrogen will take time, other strong partners and financial commitment. But these high investments will pay off: with an energy source which never runs dry and which does not harm the environment. The BMW CleanEnergy World Tour proves it. The Hydrogen Age has begun.

The principle is straightforward: water is split electrolytically into its two components hydrogen and oxygen. The energy required for separating the two elements is transferred to the hydrogen. Hydrogen is thus an energy carrier and not an energy source such as petrol for example. When hydrogen is combusted with oxygen in the air, this energy is released to drive the engine and what remains is water.

Hydrogen will replace petrol. That is the BMW CleanEnergy idea. However, since hydrogen fuelling facilities are not widely available at the moment, the BMW CleanEnergy vehicles are fitted with a petrol tank in addition to the hydrogen tank. If one of the tanks is empty, the vehicle automatically switches to the other. This what is known as bivalent and it is the decisive advantage for the fast introduction of hydrogen vehicles.

Establishing hydrogen as a fuel worldwide is set to challenge a whole generation. Now that hydrogen technology has already reached an advanced stage, it is necessary to build up an infrastructure based on global partnerships and to create the political conditions for lasting energy supply.  Count on BMW to be a leader in this quest.