BMW Hydrogen 7 uses Hydrogen power, albeit with a conventional petrol engine in reserve. Unfortunately according to recent reports, Hydrogen powered vehicles may be a little way off mass-production. Hydrogen powered toy racing cars are available to buy now, but the full sized models could be up to 30 years away.

This is not the first time that Hydrogen using vehicles have been developed. Back in the early 1900s, the Zeppelin airships used hydrogen to fly, until the catestrophic Hindenburg disaster in 1937, curtailed hydrogen as a means of transport.

Now, German engineers one again are embracing Hydrogen technology. The BMW Hydrogen 7 was introduced last year. Built around the existing BMW 7 series, but with the addition of a liquid hydrogen fuel tank. Hydrogen as a fuel, has some particular environmental benefits. It does not emit CO2 (a huge part of the climate change issue), just some harmless vapour, unlike conventional fossil fuels.

The high tech hydrogen storage tank has a capacity of approximately 17.6 lb of liquid hydrogen, giving the Hydrogen 7 a cruising range in hydrogen mode upwards of 125 miles. The car will do an additional 300 miles on the petrol tank. The driver, at the flick of a switch can engage hydrogen or petrol, without any change to the car’s performance, as engine power and torque remain identical regardless of the fuel used.

BMW are only producing about 50 Hydrogen 7 cars, with 5 heading for the UK. Unfortunately the Hydrogen 7 is not available to buy as yet, but hydrogen is today powering cars, and once the distribution channels are sorted, then you might even to be able to fill it up.

What BMW have done though is prove the concept. It is only a matter of time before, cars like this are available to buy, and we hope that the Hydrogen 7 helps give this concept some momentum and speeds up the process.

This is an experimental website, designed to examine ways we can travel in luxury, but with a low cost to the environment. Eco Chauffeur is a step towards a sustainable future. An examination of new and emerging technologies such as Hydrogen, Biodiesel and Hybrid powered vehicles, to find ways of reducing the carbon footprint of fossil fuel powered vehicles.

Eco Chauffeur’s ultimate goal is to be the UK’s First Eco-Luxury chauffeur car service. Featuring the state of the art in environmentally friendly travel with full-fat luxury service. At the moment, there is no such thing as truly clean transport, aside from using your legs, but Eco Chauffeur believes that Luxury travel needn’t cost the Earth and with the right focus, anything is possible.

Dig this

So, if there is no such thing as a luxury eco-friendly chauffeur car, what can we do? The Woodland Trust may have a solution. Trees feed the atmosphere with life enriching oxygen and by supporting tree planting across the UK, businesses can help to create valuable woodland that will grow to sequester (absorb and store) CO2 pollution and in so doing, help with the fight against climate change.

A giant leap

For years we have run a successful chauffeur car service, but increasingly our conscience has been plagued by the fact that this means of transport is not the best for the planet. So for our children and their children, we are researching means of transport that we believe to be a giant leap forward in chauffeur driven transport.

We cannot command Nature except by obeying her.

?Francis Bacon