Bavarians resort to dual-fuel BMW
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by Bill Godwin
• The Bavarian resort of Bad Fussing has started to use a 25seater bus powered by a dualfuel 1.8-litre BMW car engine. The 99hp (74OV) engine is based on the type used in BMW's 3-Series car, converted to use petrol or compressed natural gas (CNG).
The 8m-long Neoplan MIC 8008 GES bus (with a GVW of around 10 tonnes) is constructed of carbon fibre. It carries 6151it of CNG in a roofmounted module; a 490kg nickel metalhydride (NiMH) battery gives a range of up to 40km depending on load and conditions, which is more than adequate for the zero-emission section of the route. The town already has a small fleet of battery-electric buses.
When drive from the spark-ignition engine is selected the generator feeds the motors and/or charges the battery pack. The engine is always started on petrol and switches automatically to CNG operation; a control system monitors and optimises the various fuel/drive combinations, and includes a battery management system to increase the range of all-electric operation.