Linde’s CEO Wolfgang Reitzle has stressed that he will be driving hydrogen-powered BMW Hydrogen 7 from now on.

The objective is very clear for Professor Dr. Reitzle. He said, "Hydrogen-powered cars should become an everyday sight on our streets."

The Chairman of the Executive Board of Linde AG has started practicing what he preaches by collecting a BMW Hydrogen 7 at the Linde Hydrogen Center. Professor Dr. Reitzle is to get a brand new model of what is considered to be the first top-end saloon in the world with a bivalent hydrogen-powered combustion engine. The new car will be handed over by Professor Dr. Joachim Millberg, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW Group.

Professor Dr. Reitzle also added, "BMW and Linde are working closely together to achieve sustainable mobility using hydrogen as a fuel. With the BMW Hydrogen 7, BMW has taken a very important step towards mass production. For me, this vehicle is much more than just a new company car. The BMW Hydrogen 7 proves that hydrogen technology is suitable for everyday use."

The new car will be re-fuelled with climate-neutral hydrogen at the Linde Hydrogen Center in Unterschleißheim which presently supplies BMW’s own test vehicles.

Professor Dr. Millberg said, "We need network partners from the fields of politics, the sciences and economics, so that we can continue to develop and expand appropriate infrastructures and technologies to support the use of hydrogen as a fuel. Linde and BMW are united by a common vision of achieving sustainable production and supply of hydrogen."

For so long, Linde has been at the cutting edge when it comes to the development of environmentally-friendly hydrogen technology. The company also provides a complete range of technologies necessary for the functioning of a hydrogen value chain and that involves production to re-fuelling.

Linde is also involved in other initiatives which aim to demonstrate the suitability of hydrogen as an everyday fuel. It is also BMW’s exclusive gas partner for its CleanEnergy Project. The company has also taken a leading role as a supplier of mobile re-fuelling systems.

BMW the producer of top-of-the-line BMW 323is parts and Linde are ensuring Germany’s position as the center of innovation reinforcing it with the creation of an infrastructure of hydrogen filling stations. Earlier this year, the Linde Hydrogen Center in Unterschleißheim was voted as one of the “365 Landmarks� by the federal initiative “Germany-Land of Ideas�.

The German automaker has already produced a series of 100 models of its Hydrogen 7 which is the first top-end saloon in the world to be equipped with a hydrogen-powered combustion engine with bivalent drive. The Hydrogen 7 is a combination of hydrogen technology, good handling, high-performance, and of course luxurious comfort which BMW is known for. The range of Hydrogen 7 vehicles is to be presented in the course of 2007 to selected individuals in political and economic spheres and also to distinguish members of the society for use as an everyday mode of transport.