For those that continue to be concerned about the 2007 MINI’s upcoming German engineered powerplant, we’ve got some reading for you. The first story from from Edmunds Inside Line and among other things, delves into new details about BMWs plans for a ultra hi-tech hybrid powerplant (last part of the article). While there’s no way to tell if this engine (or others mentioned in the article) will eventually make it to the MINI, it should provide a good example of the kind of wicked cool engineering BMW is capable of.
[ Interview: BMW Tech Guru Dr. Raymond Freymann ] Edmunds Inside Line
Secondly we’ve got an article by the Autoindustry.co.uk about BMW again winning the engine of the year award. This time for the mighty V10 found in the M5 and M6. Naturally we’ll never seen something like this in a MINI (oh the humanity!) but you start to get an idea of what kind of minds are working on BMW and MINI engines. But first place wasn’t enough… they’ve also grabbed second place as well as with their twin-turbo diesel.
[ BMW wins International Engine of the Year 2005 ] Autoindustry.co.uk
These stories will hopefully help put in context some of the information we’ve learned (and will learn) about the next generation MINI engine. An engine that BMW has engineered from the ground up to be a truly modern 4 cylinder powerplant. With PSA’s logistics help and ability to give BMW economies of scale, the lump beneath the bonnet should be truly impressive.
You can read a detailed technical assessment of the engine here.
And if you want a nice, broad overview, you may want to check this out.
<p>Good to reaffirm that BMW hasn’t lost touch with its roots. ;-)</p>
<p>I too would love to see the automobile exit the air quality equation. Glad to see low/zero emission engine technology evolving to address real-life practicalities, performance, and economies. Application of this technology to MINI should be a no brainer, imo.</p>
<p>Gabe –</p>
<p>No one doubts BMW’s ability in the engineering department. However, it all comes down to execution…and that’s where some of us are a little concerned. </p>
<p>Anyway – glad to see BMW going after hydrogen-power.</p>
<ul>
<li><ul>
<li>m</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<p>So interesting! </p>
<p>BMW seems to have such a practical approach to the whole “green car” issue. Rather than just trying to match what others are doing, they are attacking the problem from fresh perspectives and coming up with some truly innovative solutions. An internal combustion engine that runs on liquid hydrogen is very exciting. Take cars out of the air polution equation and actually boost their efficiency and power at the same time. I would also conjecture that such a transition in car technology would be very easy for the public in general to accept. Though the mileage is great, I am wary of the inherant complication of hybrids, but BMW seems to have a fresh perspective on simplifying and perfecting even that technology as well. </p>
<p>That asside, however, the prospect of the liquid hydrogen solution is most intruiging. With the proper infrastructure in place, transportation could not only become cleaner and more efficient, but even possibly cheaper. Hydrogen-powered engines could replace powerplants in trains and other mass transit vehicles as well. I wonder how the liquid hydrogen production costs would compare to the costs fossil fuel refinement. There’s a lot of money and energy that goes into turing oil into gasoline. Solar-powered electrolisis of Hydrogen plus pressurization is a relatively simple process by comparison. And if a suitable industrial use for the corresponding volume of oxygen produced in the process could be found, the possibilities are very interesting. In fact, I wonder if they’ve considered liquid oxygen injection. The energy potential would be very enticing and since you’re producing one by producing the other automatically, it shouldn’t be cost prohibative, and the efficiency of combustion would be rediculous. You’d have an engine that wouldn’t need a conventional air intake. Simply dual injectors and two fuel tanks. The mixture is automatic and independant of altitude (a nice, easy ration of 2:1) and the power would be astounding. No need for forced-induction when everything’s already at 3 or 4 atmospheres. And with everything operating a stone’s throw from absolute Zero, talk about your cold-air intake! The efficiency and energy produced should be amazing. Plus, there would be zero emissions – just a little steam. Tunnels will get a little humid, but otherwise there’s a lot of potential there. Liquid oxygen/hydrogen is what they use to launch the space shuttle, so there’s definately horse power there!</p>
<p>Very cool stuff.</p>
<p>We already have liquid oxygen injection in the form of Nitrous. Besides no one would want a car that they’d have to fill up twice at every stop.</p>
<p>It’s good to read what BMW is bringing to the table. Ultra fuel efficient vehicles and high performance enthusiast vehicles are usually seen as contradictory. Most talk of alternative fuels tend to leave us enthusiasts out of the equation. I’m glad that BMW is stepping up and acknowledging the fact that there will still be people who love to drive, long after we deplete the fossil fuel supply.</p>
<p>If they used liguid helium would the exhaust sound like a chipmunk??</p>
<p>…I’ve just read the article in regards to BMW’s twist on the,”hybird” engine”,and have come to the conclusion that it’s a great idea. Hopefully,that engine will be one of the engine choices for the redesigned MINI in ’07. By the way,after reading the article,I was wondering if it’s possible to have a MCS;or,a MCS JCW verison of that engine? Maybe someone could answer that question for me because,I,for one,will admit,that I’m no,”gearhead.” Peace.</p>
<p>I always wondered why car companies insisted on pursuing fuel cells instead of just injecting liquid hydrogen straight into the engine. That way cars can still have the characteristics and sounds of normal internal combustion engines, while still being green. I am not professor on the matter, so I assumed that that method was impossible.</p>
<p>It’s awesome to see BMWs innovations, and that’s exactly what’s going to take them into the future – Innovation!</p>
<p>Am I the only one who questions what issues that hydrogen brings to the table? Besides the fact that you have to ‘create’ hydrogen using electricity, which for the most part involves fossil fuels, but one of the ‘clean’ aspects of the exhaust is water vapor. Water vapor = humidity = what would would think could lead to even bigger problems. Do you want to be standing downtown in a city that already has stagnet air, next to a line of cars belching out humidity? What would be the effect of shooting out water vapor during the winter? Would we also have to install auto-salters to conteract the greater chance of Ice on the roads? Also, isn’t water vapor one of the leading ‘greenhouse gasses’? I’m sure someone has thought of these issues, but I have yet to see anyone address this.</p>
<p>Rocketboy, are you suggesting that the fuels we are using now are better for the environment than hydrogen will be?</p>
<p>My understanding is that ultimately hydrogen will be produced using natural energy eventually, such as solar energy.</p>
<p>I personally don’t think that the water vapor exhaust could be any worse than the pollution coming out of petrol and diesel engines today. I think I would rather have my engine belching out humidity than carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrocarbons, and all the other small amounts of chemicals.</p>
<p>Please don’t get me wrong, just giving my opinion.</p>
<p>SuperCharged</p>
<p>Supercharged… Considering that the biggest ‘greenhouse’ gas is water vapor, massive amounts of water vapor very well could be worse than the fuels that we use now. Also, right now, we don’t have anywhere near enough ‘natural’ energy plants to even come close to producing enough hydrogen for the projected demand if we do go hydrogen. I’m just wondering if we are getting rid of a percieved evil for a percieved good, without actually looking at the whole picture.</p>
<p>Rocketboy, I agree that all these things should be considered.</p>
<p>It’s not really an option to move forward, becuase if we don’t, fossil fuels are eventually going to run out and that in itself will demand a better solution. I know it’s not something that would happen in the near future, but it will happen.</p>
<p>I haven’t done any major research into the negative effects of hydrogen, but I am sure there’s got to be more to the story. I don’t think car companies (and other companies) would invest so much time and money into the research and development of hydrogen as a fuel if it couldn’t work.</p>
<p>Time will tell I suppose.</p>
<p>Rocketboy, I also agree with your concern over the utililty of hydrogen as an automotive fuel. However, water vapor is already a major component of car exhaust. I seriously doubt that that atmospheric humidity and temperatures would be increased by the relatively small difference in water vapor output we are talking about. That being said, I agree 100% that there is nowhere near enough renewable energy electricity generation to create the necessary hydrogen without resorting to burning fossil fuels to create hydrogen. Even if there was enough ‘green’ energy supply, electric motors would still be more logical than hydrogen (it is wasted energy in the conversion).</p>
<p>The efficiency of an internal combustion engine should be considered when comparing it to a fuel cell implementation. Furthermore the need for hybrid technology will remain as long as internal combustion engines remain since there is no easy way to convert energy derived from regenerative braking. Of course fuel cell technologies tend to be hybrid anyway since the ability of a fuel cell to deliver surge energy is almost non-existent so a fuel cell based power train must have some form of electrical charge reservoir such as an ultra-capacitor or a battery.</p>
<p>I believe that there is a future for the fuel cell, it’s more of a matter of when than whether it will happen. Certainly some of the ideas that BMW is exploring may well happen between now and then.</p>
<p>As far as water in the atmosphere is concerned – this is of little consequence relative to the atmospheric H2O loading and furthermore if one source of water vapour increases another will diminish to balance the increase as the partial pressure of water vapour due to vehicle emissions will reduce the evaporation from other natural sources.</p>
<p>The best hope for a sustainable energy solution balanced with environmental sustainability is to move away entirely from combustion of any sort. </p>
<p>One of the factors that proponents of hydrogen based solutions tend to conveniently forget is that hydrogen is really only an energy “storage” mechanism, not a direct from of energy. Hydrogen has to be produced and this requires energy. The most common means of producing hydrogen is using electricity which must be generated typically using coal, natural gas or nuclear fission. The burning of fossil fuels to produce the electricity required to produce hydrogen has direct environmental consequences although the efficiency of its production is superior and the use of expensive emissions controls is more practical including, potentially, CO2 emissions (various solutions including direct injection of CO2 into the earth and also into deep sea “reservoirs” where the ocean’s depth would be sufficient to keep the CO2 liquefied have been proposed).</p>
<p>So – we are left with the direct conversion of renewable resources such as wind, tidal and solar energy and the holy grail of electrical generation – nuclear fusion. </p>
<p>Every solution either has identifiable drawbacks (for instance liquefied CO2 has a tendency to kill off fundamental oceanic life forms required for a sustainable food chain) or potential drawbacks that we simply haven’t discovered yet. </p>
<p>Let’s all hope for a big break through.</p>
<p>Direct inject Oxy would be tough. It would require a ceramic block and head beacuse of the tremendous ammount of heat generated (nearing blow-torch intensity, so there goes the price. A possible solution would be to also inject residual water (left over from nitrogen combustion)to both cool and develop more power. I don’t know all of the chemistry and thermodynamics involved, but there is definately a vast ammount of energy to be harnessed. As with a traditional ICE much depends on temperature, compression and latent heat. If BMW truly wanted to go the extra mile they could develop thier own “Quasiturbine” powerplant, utilizing photocombustion. Theoretically the most efficient rotating heat engine ever concieved.</p>