While some car makers might be betting the future for fuels will be a mix of several different sources, one major European carmaker seems to be happy to put all of its eggs in one basket.
SFGate.com reports BMW told attendees of the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference today in Monterey, California that it is going all in with hydrogen:
“Water is the coal of the future,” a big sign in the middle of the room read. It was a reference to the process of extracting the H from H2O, and then using it to power the same internal combustion engines we use today.
Turns out BMW started its hydrogen program back in 1978, and as such, they have a ton of research on the topic. Lots of interesting factoids. For example, BMW believes:
–The world will hit peak oil in 2025, marking the day the world reaches its peak petroleum production, declining thereafter until we run out.
–Technology will allow us to mass-produce hydrogen, without burning fossil fuels to do so, in the next 10 to 15 years.
–The cost of putting a hydrogen gas station on every 40 to 50 miles of U.S. roadwways would cost between $400 billion and $500 billion.
–We will see the beginnings of hydrogen infrastructure, i.e., gas stations, by 2025.
–We will switch over totally between the years 2040 and 2050.
In the meantime, BMW is still developing hybrids to take advantage of other alternative fuels. But long term, look for the company to put more and more into a hydrogen future.