BMW Group Plant Leipzig is the first car plant in the world to pilot a newly developed burner technology that allows to run on green H₂ as well as natural gas. The new technology meets the feasibility requirements to reduce CO₂ emissions from the intensive use of natural gas, a fossil fuel. BMW AG Board Member Milan Nedeljković said, “This is a technological breakthrough. It underscores our innovativeness and our determination to make production ever more sustainable.”

BMW Group Plant Leipzig launched the first fuel-flexible H₂-capable burner for paint dryers. The special feature of the system is that it can run on H₂, methane (CH4) or a mixture of the two. It can also switch between fuels while in operation. Initially, it will run in trial operations. The innovative fuel-flexible burner system was developed in collaboration with the Bremen-based company Saacke, and with the Fraunhofer Institute IFF in Magdeburg supporting the integration of the safety concept.

Sustainability as a key element in the BMW iFACTORY

Reducing CO₂ emissions is one of the central aims of the BMW iFACTORY with its LEAN. GREEN. DIGITAL approach. While sustainability, optimum use of resources and circularity are the focus of GREEN, the LEAN strand of the strategy works for efficient, precise and highly flexible production. DIGITAL makes effective use of digitalization in data science, artificial intelligence and virtualization.

To become even more sustainable, the BMW Group is devising site-specific solutions to reduce CO₂ emissions – including geothermal, photovoltaics, and H₂. The various solutions will be deployed in whatever way best suits the site in question.

To run H₂ throughout, a pipeline will be needed to ensure enough green H₂ are always available. The Leipzig plant can use a H₂ network created in the region for this purpose.

H₂ power in plant and transport logistics

H₂ has long been a staple fuel in plant logistics. The first indoor H₂ filling station in Germany was installed on the plant premises in 2013, to fuel forklifts and tug trains in intralogistics. Today, almost ten years later, Plant Leipzig has the largest fleet in Germany with over 130 fuel-cell powered forklifts. There are also five intralogistics H₂ stations on the premises. The latest offers fully automated refueling.

The BMW Group is also working with its partners to trial H₂-powered solutions to support the decarbonization of transport logistics beyond the factory gates as well and is involved in the H2HAUL and HyCET research projects. H₂ is a promising fuel for transport logistics because it allows fast refueling, high payloads and flexible usability. It also offers extensive range. And green H₂ – produced with energy from renewable sources – will pave the way for lower-carbon, long-distance logistics in the future.

The H2HAUL project in Belgium, Germany, France and Switzerland is working to develop and pilot 16 H₂ fuel cell-powered trucks and install new, high-capacity filling stations for reliable fuel supplies. Launched in 2019, H2HAUL will run for five years, with Germany contributing by trialing two fuel-cell trucks for transportation between Plant Leipzig and Nuremberg.

On the HyCET project, the BMW Group is leading a consortium to advance the development and testing of trucks with H₂ combustion engines in transport logistics. With project funding of €11.3 MM approved by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport in September of this year, HyCET aims to demonstrate the potential of H₂ combustion-engine trucks in transport logistics and establish two H₂ filling stations for public use.

Plant Leipzig – Geared for sustainability from the outset

“Sustainability is in Plant Leipzig’s DNA, as it were,” said Plant Director Petra Peterhänsel. “Efficient and sustainable processes were already very important to us when we were planning the facility, and one highly visible result of that is the four wind turbines that supply electricity to the plant.” Erected in 2013, they deliver 10 MW of power (generating approx. 26 GWh/year). In 2017 a further milestone followed when the Battery Farm comprising up to 700 second-life high-voltage batteries from BMW i3 vehicles was opened. The batteries are used to store energy, such as that generated by the wind turbines. By storing the energy on the premises, local energy management can be optimized and the electrical grid kept stable.