Racing stripes are so démodé...
BMW says its next generation Efficient Dynamics program will incorporate technology used by NASA to power space probes.
NASA probes use thermoelectric generators - TEGs – convert heat from naturally decaying plutonium into electricity. In its quest to reduce fuel consumption and emissions to meet 2012 and 2015 EU regulations, BMW is developing a variation of the NASA devices to soak up heat from a vehicle’s exhaust and convert it to electrical power. TEGs work because heat applied to different radioactive metals can be used to create a current, and according to a Reuters report BMW is using a semi-conductor called Bismuth Telluride to fuel the thermoelectric cycle
According to the German company’s head of development Klaus Draeger, a system fitted to one of its vehicles could generate fuel efficiencies in the order of five percent on the combined cycle - as up to 200W of free power are pumped into high energy onboard systems like the climate control.
The TEG system is already at the prototype stage at BMW’s Palo Alto, California experimental lab, and we can expect the devices to be in series production on BMW cars within five years.
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