Yesterday, I posted Part 1 of the interview with Andreas Klugescheid, Corporate Communications Manager for BMW North America concerning the rollout of the BMW Hydrogen 7 automobile in the U. S. and Germany. Today, the conclusion to the interview has been posted.
Here is Part 2 of the interview:
Hydro Kevin (HK): Who are the current BMW suppliers for liquid hydrogen?
Andreas Klugescheid (AK): Linde is one of the key players that we work with who supply liquid hydrogen.
HK: I understand that BMW and the TOTAL group is opening a public hydrogen fueling station in Munich in 2007. Is it also preferable that the lessees live in or Munich or are there liquid hydrogen fueling stations elsewhere?
AK: Berlin also has two hydrogen fueling stations that were built in coordination with the Clean Air Partnership and will offer both liquid and compressed hydrogen.
HK: What kinds of modifications had to be made to the engine to run on both gasoline and hydrogen?
AK: Most of the modifications are with the injectors and the intake manifold also had to be modified. Also, of course, the hydrogen tanks are new.
HK: And how are the liquid hydrogen tanks cooled?
AK: They’re not cooled. The liquid hydrogen tanks are super-insulated so there is no loss in temperature and no cooling needs to be applied.
HK: If the car were to break down, where would one in the U. S. or Germany take the car for repair?
AK: Of course, we hope the vehicles do not break down. But, in the event, something were to happen, we have a team of trained engineers in the U. S. and in Germany to handle anything that may come up.
HK: Will the Hydrogen 7 and the BMW Hydrogen Limousine rollout at the same time?
AK: They are the same vehicle. Some have been reporting these are two different vehicles but they are really one in the same.
HK: Yes, I’ve been guilty of this as well, so I’ll have to clean up the website a bit and get the word out about the correction. What else have others been misreporting?
AK: Some places have reported that GM is manufacturing the Hydrogen 7 and then show a photo of our car. Other’s have said that the BMW Hydrogen 7 will roll out in April 2007, but we’re not saying April, we’re just saying the first half of 2007.
HK: Thank you for your time.
AK: My pleasure.
Hopefully, this two-part interview has answered some questions and cleared up some misinformation concerning the rollout of the BMW Hydrogen 7 luxury automobile in the U. S. and Germany early in 2007.