NATURAL gas presents the only 'sensible and really meaningful' alternative to petrol and diesel for the foreseeable future, claimed BMW AG chairman Joachim Millberg when the German company unveiled a new gas-powered car at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. But he also promised that BMW would be the world's first carmaker to offer hydrogen cars built in serial production.

'Our strategy focuses on hydrogen as the long-term solution. We will therefore continue to take an active approach in developing the use of hydrogen fuel. But in technological terms, our path toward hydrogen starts with natural gas,' he said. 'The fuel cell, particularly for reasons of cost, only fits into our energy philosophy where it makes sense - as a chemical 'power station' generating electricity, where it can run auxiliary heating or air conditioning when the engine is switched off.

'But despite all our efforts to develop the use of hydrogen as automotive fuel, we alone are not able to give this highly innovative technology the breakthrough it deserves; the prerequisite is the economic recovery of hydrogen as well as the introduction and implementation of the infrastructure,' he said.