BMW will announce today that it will soon introduce its hydrogen-fuelled 7 Series limousine here in Singapore, less than two weeks after sales and marketing head Stefan Krause revealed that more Asian markets will get to experience the car, called the Hydrogen 7.

Mr Krause had spoken in Tokyo during the BMW Group Asia Press Conference on Jan 31 about the Munich-based carmaker's pioneering activities in the field of alternative powertrains.

'This is what the BMW Hydrogen 7 stands for, a unique vehicle that we presented in some Asian markets last year. Further markets will follow shortly,' he said.

That high-level hint will be followed today by the announcement of the Hydrogen 7's arrival in Singapore as part of the BMW CleanEnergy Exhibition to be held here next month. The high-tech car is not for sale and the exhibition is instead a showcase of the company's 20 years of research and development in hydrogen technology.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 is the world's first emission-free liquid hydrogen-powered luxury saloon suitable for everyday use. According to BMW, the car is part of its efforts to create sustainable mobility.

Outwardly, the Hydrogen 7 looks like a conventional BMW 7 Series model except that it has two fuel tanks, one for petrol and another for liquid hydrogen. Under the hood, the Hydrogen 7's V12 engine can run on either fuel and churn out 260 hp while displaying the usual BMW driving dynamics.

But when operated only on hydrogen fuel, the car emits water vapour, hence the CleanEnergy label.

And because it uses a standard engine, the Hydrogen 7 ensures that decades of development in the internal combustion engine do not go to waste, according to Mr Krause.

More importantly, the BMW member of the board of management stressed that the objective of this CleanEnergy exercise is not to sell more cars but to showcase the technology and share it with others in the hope of achieving sustainability one day.

Mr Krause also said he is hopeful that more hydrogen filling stations - critical for the development and manufacture of more hydrogen-powered vehicles - will be ready soon. But he realised that for now, politics and the huge investments which oil companies and other related businesses have made in a petrol-based infrastructure will make it difficult to realise that in the near future.

It is understood that the Hydrogen 7 cars due to arrive in Singapore later this month are part of a world tour which is currently in Australia. About half a dozen cars are spending some six weeks there to demonstrate the technology to a select group of VIPs.

Over here, the cars are likely to be around for only as long as the exhibition, which is scheduled to take place over about three weeks in March.

This article was first published in The Business Times on Feb 13, 2008.