ABM_1 - Flipbook - Page 41
FEATURE
HYDROGEN COMBUSTION
but different
will be less prone to preignition. From
the oil side, we’re looking at different
chemistry, trying to come up with
formulations that will actually protect the
engine and reduce preignition.”
Like a petrol engine, hydrogen
combustion creates heat, but it also
outputs water. Naturally, this is much
better for the environment than carbon
dioxide, but it poses unique challenges.
Gao explains: “In the ideal case,
the water goes out of the tailpipe, but
sometimes in the combustion process the
water can get into the lubricants also.
We need to have lubricants that are more
compatible with water.”
Although the
concept is in its
infancy, the Gazoo
Racing division
has previewed a
hydrogen-powered
GR Yaris concept.
In its infancy
In 2007, BMW produced 100 examples of
the Hydrogen 7, a pilot project hydrogen
saloon car based on the top-of-the
range, V12-powered 760Li. In converting
the V12 engine to run on hydrogen, it
lost 185 PS, making it only slightly more
powerful than the entry level petrolpowered 730i, despite having twice the
displacement and number of cylinders.
In the 20 years since, technological
development and the use of
turbocharging have mostly alleviated
this issue, making the technology
performant enough to work with just 1.6
litres of displacement. However, some
quirks remain.
Aoki says: “When we build hydrogen
engines today, it is unfortunately
expensive. But many components for
the production of the petrol engine are
already well defined for mass production.
“Many components for hydrogen are
still under development, and many of
them are far from mass production.
For this simple reason, today it is more
expensive, but the target is to bring it
down to the level of the petrol engine, or
even lower.”
The fact that the technology is still
on the cutting edge introduces quirks →
