BMW's clean-sweep

A HYBRID vehicle from German prestige marque BMW is not expected to appear before the end of this decade, according to board member Burkhard Goschel.

Outlining BMW’s future moves in alternative power generation and other fuel-saving initiatives, including stop-start and bio-fuel engines, Professor Goschel told GoAuto that the company’s hybrid power system would be a high-end unit which was beyond the technology of the current powertrains now available.

"It will take time, because a high-end solution is not on the market now," he said.

Although refusing to divulge specific details, he said the BMW system provided a "new way of hybrid solution".

BMW is working with DaimlerChrysler and General Motors on a fully integrated dual electric motor and a fixed-gear transmission.

Known as two-mode hybrid, the system features low- and high-speed electric continuously variable transmission modes. The system also incorporates four fixed gear ratios for high efficiency and power-handling capabilities.

Like the Lexus GS430h, the BMW system is similar in size and mechanical content to a conventional automatic transmission. However, it can operate in infinitely variable gear ratios or one of the four fixed-gear ratios.

In the meantime, Prof Goschel confirmed that BMW would expand its technology envelope at the end of this year by introducing a “brake energy regeneration” system that relies on an oversized battery to engage the alternator only during deceleration.

By actively controlling the alternator and battery charge electronically, the alternator can freewheel during cruise and acceleration, while the battery supplies the necessary power to the car. The battery will also be used in a conventional manner to power auxiliaries.

BMW claims the system can reduce fuel consumption by three per cent and frees up to the drive wheels the energy that would have been used to power the alternator.

Prof Goschel also said BMW also remained strongly committed to hydrogen and fuel cells and was stepping up its planning for bio-fuels. He said the company was well advanced with in-car storage systems for hydrogen but that this remained an expensive issue.

"You need at least 10kg of hydrogen for a good range of operation," he said. "You can do it by gaseous storage but it needs to be reasonable pressure of 900 bar, which is quite a lot and not easy to handle.

"Most of our fleets working on fuel cells are going down to 700 bars, which is even not very easy.

"With our 7 Series going with liquid hydrogen the car is operating very well but with the handling of liquid hydrogen is also not so very easy.

"There is some work to do to store hydrogen on-board in a car. That is the question we have to solve in the future. But in the end, using hydrogen would be the most efficient way for mobility of the future." Biofuels are growing in Europe but Prof Goschel believes the push for E85 fuel – 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol – has more to do with politics than any practical fuel saving.

He believes making a special fuel for low-volume cars is not a long-term solution.