BMW looks to hydrogen. Not for car. For factory.
BMW unit in US is researching whether it can turn landfill gas into hydrogen, which could power the BMW factory in South Carolina.
BMW employees pose in front of the last original BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle produced at BMW's U.S. manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, S.C., on Sept. 22, 2006. Since 2003, the automaker has been using methane gas from a local landfill to power more than half of its plant's equipment. Now, it wants to do more.
Business Wire/File
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – BMW Manufacturing Co. is working to see if landfill gas can be turned into hydrogen to fuel the company's equipment at its South Carolina manufacturing plant.
BMW said Monday the company is working with a team that includes the Gas Technology Institute and the South Carolina Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance. The effort is being funded by the South Carolina Research Authority.
Since 2003, BMW has been using methane gas from a local landfill to power more than half of its plant's equipment.
Two years ago, the company spent $12 million to make that program more efficient, and officials say the effort has reduced BMW's carbon dioxide emissions by 92,000 tons per year.