Aug 14 2008
If you thought the old summer road trip had gotten about as hi-tech as it could thanks to technology like GPS, e-books and DVDs, think again. Hydrogen-fuelled cars are the latest development to redefine our national summer pastime.
Linde North America, a member of The Linde Group, one of the world’s largest hydrogen producers, is supplying green hydrogen to fuel BMW Hydrogen 7 Series cars driving this month from Portland, Maine, to Los Angeles, California. Linde and BMW are two of 11participants in a national road tour organized by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Dept. of Energy, and two industry associations: the California Fuel Cell Partnership and the National Hydrogen Association.
The tour, which starts today, will make multiple stops in 17 states plus the District of Columbia, is aimed at raising awareness of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel and the need to develop a U.S. hydrogen energy infrastructure.
“Linde was one of the earliest entrants into the hydrogen energy arena. We helped develop a safe and reliable hydrogen infrastructure technology, already in use in many places around the world and we’ll help do it in the U.S.,” said Mike McGowan, head of Hydrogen Solutions for Linde North America.
The BMW Hydrogen 7, which has an internal combustion engine similar to gasoline-fueled vehicles, runs on liquid hydrogen produced and supplied by Linde North America. Linde has also developed and supplied the technology BMW uses to refuel the cars.
“Linde is an expert in designing and delivering hydrogen refueling technology. We have equipped more public hydrogen refuelling stations than any other company – over 70 stations in 15 countries. We also have performed over 120,000 hydrogen vehicle refuellings – the most of any hydrogen supplier. We believe our participation in this tour will prove that it’s practical for average citizens to drive hydrogen cars and refuel easily,” said McGowan, who is also the chairman of the National Hydrogen Association.
Tom Baloga, BMW Vice President of Engineering, U.S., said, “BMW has already logged nearly 2 million miles in our fleet of 100 Hydrogen 7s. Being on this tour will show more people that hydrogen is truly the best alternative transportation fuel. An internal combustion engine, powered by hydrogen should play an important role in the future of sustainable mobility.”
Linde has the ability and expertise to handle all aspects of hydrogen energy, from production and purification to storage, distribution and fuelling. The green hydrogen Linde is supplying for this event is produced at the company’s plant in Magog, Quebec. It is derived from water and produced using renewable hydroelectric power. Linde has partnered on multiple projects with a variety of manufacturers, including automotive companies, oil producers, forklift truck and battery makers.
“This experience, combined with our global size and scale, enables us to execute projects safely and successfully. It also gives us the expertise to deliver new and sustainable energy solutions that contribute to a greener world and cleaner environment,” McGowan said.