BMW certainly hasn't been shy in promoting its hydrogen-powered vehicles, and that promotion extends into some classrooms. As part of its education/promotion campaign, BMW has issued a document called H2 - Mobility of the Future, and yesterday provided an updated version of the package on this website by clicking on the heading "Educational Projects."

What's in this "educational package"? 31 chapters on the supply of hydrogen, how fossil and renewable energy will continue to play a role in BMW's future and how we'll eventually get to a hydrogen economy. The H2 package also includes "an extensive glossary, a list of additional internet links, as well as a portfolio of exercises specially tailored to the needs of pupils aged 15 and older. Practical notes from Germany's State Institute for Teaching Quality and Education Research (ISB) on the inclusion of the materials in science teaching round off this information pack." Sound like good reading? The Bavarians will mail you a free print copy if you'd like (see details after the jump).

[Source: BMW]

BMW must think that people who spend their days planning how to leave this earth are the right target for the Hydrogen 7 hype. Last fall, a fleet of the dual-fuel cars spent two months at NASA; this month the Atlantis Space Shuttle crew chilling in Munich (visiting the BMW Group as part of a tour of Germany) got a chance to test out the luxury vehicle. It worked, as Space Shuttle Commander Stephen Frick is now a fan. In a statement (available after the jump) he said, "It's impressive to see hydrogen functioning so smoothly in cars as well. What I find most striking is that a car running on hydrogen performs just as well as a petrol-driven model." It's always good to remember at times like this that the H7 can run on hydrogen or petrol, and there's nothing in BMW's media release that says the car was running on H2 when Frick was on board.

The first European hydrogen station installed along a highway is now open. The oil giant Total has opened the fuel kiosk along the Ruisbroek-Brussels highway in Belgium, and it is the first hydrogen dispensing station that is located in a place like "regular" ones. It's also the first hydrogen fuel station built outside Germany. Although owned by Total, the station was also sponsored by BMW, which must be glad to announce that lucky drivers of the BMW Hydrogen 7-series had another place to fill up with H₂. Brussels is not one of Europe's largest capital cities, but it is one of the most important ones thanks to the number of EU institution that it hosts.

[Source: BMW Belgium-Luxembourg and Total]

Photo credit: Vince Bucci/Getty Images. Click to enlarge.

Last night, for a special screening of the movie version of "Sex and the City," star Kristen Davis got a ride in the dual-fuel BMW Hydrogen 7. Davis rode the car to the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood, California. While I'm sure the drama was kept on-screen, let's not forget that co-star Kim Cattrall is really more into the Mercedes GLK Freeside, as she proved with her appearance at the Detroit Auto Show in January. In fact, the GLK Freeside is featured in the movie, if preview materials are to be believed. In any case, the movie opens nationwide today. That hydrogen-powered car? Not quite as available.


[Source: Rubenstein Communications, Inc.]

Pretty soon, we're going to have to list the people who aren't driving a BMW Hydrogen 7. BMW is offering the car to celebrities, average citizens and politicians the world over. Some of us get to drive it around the block, others get to keep it for a week or two. The latest to be handed the keys is EU Parliamentary president Hans-Gert Pöttering (pictured), who stepped into the car yesterday in Strasburg. BMW says (after the jump) that this move was "In line with the European Parliament's efforts to take measures to reduce its own CO₂ emissions." Pöttering will use the car for work-related trips. For his part, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of BMW AG, said the Hydrogen 7 "shows that we have initial solutions and are on the right track" and that for "regeneratively produced hydrogen has the most potential to secure our mobility in the future." Potential, always with the potential.

Are you planning to go to Paris from April 1st to the 6th? If so, it'd be a good chance to visit the Palais de la Découverte, which is not only a stunning building as you can see in the above picture, but where the Week for Sustainable Development will be held. This event will include a set of hydrogen-related activities.

For instance, a couple of French universities will show how to obtain hydrogen from micro-algae, and another university will show a bacterial process that processes waste into hydrogen and something which can be translated as "bio-inspired catalyzing for hydrogen production." Last but not least, a project which obtains hydrogen from solar cells will also be shown. The activities also include discussions on how to store and use hydrogen: fuel cells, cells made from oxides, chemical storage, hybrid composite materials, gas storage, metal hydrates.

The ubiquitous BMW Hydrogen 7 will also make an appearance, as an example of the application of using hydrogen in internal combustion engines, and people will be able to ask for a ride.

[Source: Palais de la Découverte]

Actor Jason Bateman is finally get a decent set of wheels. After being relegated to the Bluth family's stair car, a scorched old Mercedes and his bicycle for two underwatched seasons on Arrested Development, Bateman is now getting one of BMW's Hydrogen 7s. Bateman is the latest in the list of celebrities to be loaned one of Munich's dual fuel hydrogen wonders. BMW has built about 100 of the Hydrogen 7 sedans that retain a V-12 engine but can run on either gasoline or liquid hydrogen. Since the car only has a range of about 100 miles on hydrogen, the gasoline option comes in handy.

[Source: BMW]

The BMW Hydrogen 7 "green" message is going to Asia. While many of the cars are still tooling around Hollywood with various celebrities at the wheel (who's the latest? check back in a few hours), five have been sent to Singapore for a two-and-a-half-week promotion. Two government representatives, the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, and the chief of Singapore's national environment agency, Mr. Lee Yuen Hee, came to the BMW CleanEnergy pavilion a week ago to kick off the event. Like the celebrity vehicles here in the U.S. and Europe, the dual-fueled 7 Series will be used to ferry VIPs around Singapore. One, though, will remain on display "in a futuristic, glass-and-steel pavilion located on state land in the heart of Singapore," to make sure everyone gets a chance to be awed at just how unavailable the hydrogen economy is. The vehicles will be in Singapore until the 23rd. There's more after the jump.

Let's see: Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Jay Leno, Jeremy Piven, Will Ferrell, Placido Domingo. Oh, and Terry Tamminen. These are just some of the celebrities that BMW has convinced of the goodness of the dual fuel (gasoline and hydrogen) BMW Hydrogen 7. The next movie star to take the wheel of one of these luxury vehicles is Ed Norton - who is both an advocate for solar energy and was awesome in Fight Club. The celebs are taking part in BMW's "Hydrogen 7 Pioneer Program," a PR campaign that "gives industry leaders and prominent figures in entertainment, politics, business and more a BMW Hydrogen 7 for their daily use." The peons - that is, us - can only drive a Hydrogen 7 in rare instances, like around the block at special events. Still, the H7 is a production model, albeit one that is available only in limited quantities. Press release pasted after the jump.

While General Motors is providing a fleet of seventy-five alternative fuel vehicles. including fuel cell Equinoxes, and flex-fuel and hybrid Tahoes to shuttle the special people to the Oscars red carpet, others are finding their own rides. Among them is Cameron Diaz who will be getting dropped of in front of the camera line by a BMW Hydrogen 7. The H7 is a equipped with a dual fuel system that allows the V-12 engine to run on either gasoline or liquified hydrogen. Like other hydrogen-fueled internal combustion vehicles the H7 emits pretty much only water (and some trace amounts of NOx) when it's running on hydrogen. BMW's decision to follow the internal combustion path allows them to utilize their engine expertise, but the result is far less efficient than a fuel cell. Using liquid hydrogen also allows them to carry more hydrogen on board, but the insulated storage tank is much larger and heavier and the hydrogen boils off and must be vented to atmosphere. Still, celebs like the car a trend Brad Pitt helped start last summer.


[Source: BMW]

If you wanted to see more footage of the BMW Hydrogen 7, here's a nice video showing it on Hong Kong's old runway (Kai Tak). An editor from the Southern China Morning Post was taken for a ride and got a small lesson on how the BMW Hydrogen 7 works, its mileage, the different performance levels when running on gasoline or hydrogen and the unavailability and high cost of filling it up with the latter. Don't miss the segment on safety measures at the filling station.

Related:

• The BMW Hydrogen 7 on display in Australia early next year
• Video: Entourage star Jeremy Piven drives BMW Hydrogen 7
• Video: Jay Leno speaking about the goodness of the BMW Hydrogen 7

[Source: YouTube, h/t to James for the link]

BMW is happy displaying its array of pollution-reducing technologies and is taking them and the Hydrogen 7 to Australia. So if you happen to be in Melbourne's Federation Square from 21 - 29 January, you will be able to see them in person. The exhibition will be placed inside a specific pavilion with information panels about BMW's achievements.

As in other countries, the BMW Hydrogen 7 will be used to give a rides to political and business leaders, as well as members from media and the environment protection. BMW states that the Hydrogen 7 tour is set to demonstrate the "practicality of the technology and expose it as widely as possible."

Related:

• BMW announces sale of the 2.0d engine in Australia
• Video: Entourage star Jeremy Piven drives BMW Hydrogen 7
• Now it's time for high-end politicians: BMW Hydrogen 7 at the Quirinale

[Source: BMW]

So here's a video (thanks to J. Villarreal) that shows Jay Leno driving his BMW Hydrogen 7. Leno is evidently delighted with the car and states the benefits of driving it, such as the lack of difference between driving on hydrogen or driving on gasoline and how the car (which doesn't have a fuel cell but an ICE) is exactly the same as any other car and how nice is not feeling anxious about being stranded when running out of fuel, since you can still use gasoline. He also shows himself confident on how fast the hydrogen fuelling stations can be deployed, comparing telephone and computers but (and before you comment on this), he doesn't mention how the H₂ was obtained.

[Source: GreenEnergy via Webcastr]

A small fleet of BMW Hydrogen 7s was introduced to the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, whose official site is the Palazzo dil Quirinale, and the delegations for the World Energy Congress (WEC) which was held in Rome last week.

The fleet was presented to the President at the Quirinale during a summit with a delegation of the WEC led by Chicco Testa, President of the WEC. Also on hand was Andrea Castronovo, BMW Italia's CEO. The WEC was celebrating its 20th Congress, a world-wide energy-related event, since 1924.

Related:

• Wired LivingHome gets a BMW Hydrogen 7 in the garage
• BMW Hydrogen 7 transporting celebrities during Rome Film Festival
• Plácido Domingo next in line to get a BMW Hydrogen 7

[Source: BMW Italia]

Sometimes, there's just not a lot to add to a story. You probably already know that BMW makes a hydrogen capable version of its top-of-the-line 7-Series sedan. You probably already know that they are strategically giving those sedans away to famous people, dignitaries and well-known environmentally friendly individuals. You may even know that the BMW Hydrogen 7-Series makes less power on hydrogen and can travel less distance on that super-abundant fuel than it can when switched over to gas. So, without any further ado...

Famed tenor Placido Domingo is the latest person to have a Hydrogen 7 endowed upon him. Says Domingo, "It is an honor to be taking part in this initiative by BMW to educate, inform and, ultimately, to impact how we as a society think about alternative energy and the health of our planet. Having worked on numerous natural disaster relief efforts, I've witnessed first-hand the profound impact that environmental and climate changes can have on humanity. I feel it is the duty of everyone on this planet to learn, become involved in the fight, accept change and be part of the solution."

I know... not the most interesting post of the day. But, it's news and hydrogen's a hot topic on these pages.. so, there you go. If you want to read the news straight from BMW, the press release has been pasted after the break. Have at it!

[Source: BMW]