BMW launches online 'think tank' for sustainable mobility

It's advertsing, Jim, but not as we know it: BMW's Project-i website provides an interactive platform to stay abreast of its multitude of green projects

BMW has gone live with the online arm of its Project-i, the sustainable mobility think tank it launched in 2007. The www.project-i.com website is designed to keep followers worldwide up to date on how the brand recently dubbed the world's most sustainable auto maker on Dow Jones's Sustainability Index is, in the words of its release "mastering the challenges of sustainable mobility".

Divided into sections devoted to "revolutionary concepts" and new vehicles addressing the issues of sustainability and climate change, the site provides a constantly updated, detailed view into the company's myriad approaches to the issue and solutions to its challenges.

Alongside content under the e-mobility umbrella, it gives detailed view into testbed vehicles like the MINI E, the ActiveE and the Megacity, along with in-depth explanations of concepts like LifeDrive – the use of carbon-fibre reinforced plastics and chassis development to optimise running efficiency, weight-saving and passenger safety in EVs.

It also opens plenty of space for debate on future driver and passenger needs and cross-fertilisation of ideas via a neat, regularly updated web-, video- and blog-based summary of the public conversation and new developments in the field worldwide. It has broadened its catchment into social networking, incorporating a Twitter channel and Facebook page.