Mercedes-Benz is launching
its first series-produced
fuel cell car on the road:
the new B-Class F-CELL. The
environmentally friendly
electric car has better a
performance similar to than
a 2.0-litre petrol car and
is fully suited for everyday
driving. The zero-emission
drive system consumes the
equivalent of 3.3 litres of
diesel per 100 kilometres in
the NEDC (New European
Driving Cycle). Production
of the B-Class F-CELL will
commence in late 2009 with a
small lot. The first of
around 200 vehicles will be
delivered to customers in
Europe and the USA at the
beginning of next year.
The new fuel cell vehicle
offers everything that
people expect from a
Mercedes-Benz: High comfort
and safety as well as no
reduction in interior space
and boot capacity. Customers
will not have to sacrifice
any driving pleasure either,
because the electric motor
has a peak performance of
136 hp and a maximum
torque of 290 Nm, which is
available from the first
rotation. It ensures that
the B-Class F-CELL, whose
impressive dynamic handling
properties are in some cases
far better than those of a
two-litre petrol car, gets
off to an excellent start.
Despite these qualities, the
zero-emission fuel cell
drive consumes the
equivalent of only 3.3
litres of diesel fuel per
100 kilometres (NEDC).
Thanks to its great range
of about 400 kilometres and
short refuelling times of
around three minutes, the
B-Class F-CELL ensures local
zero-emission mobility even
for long stretches.
"2009 is the year in which
we are establishing further
milestones where sustainable
mobility is concerned. The
B-Class F-CELL is taking on
a pioneering role as the
world's first fuel cell
powered automobile to be
produced under series
production conditions", says
Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of
the Board of Management of
Daimler AG, responsible for
Group Research and
Development for
Mercedes-Benz Cars.
The vehicle's technological
heart is the new generation
of the compact,
high-performance fuel cell
system, in which gaseous
hydrogen reacts with
atmospheric oxygen at 700
bar to generate a current
for the electric motor. The
fuel cell system of the
B-Class F-CELL has a very
good cold-start capability
even at temperatures as low
as minus 25 degrees Celsius.
The drive system was
completely newly developed
versus the F-CELL A-Class
presented in 2004, with
Mercedes-Benz engineers
achieving considerable
improvements in output,
torque, operating range,
reliability, starting
characteristics and comfort.
The B-Class F-CELL now
offers driving pleasure and
day-to-day suitability at
Mercedes level - without
local emissions.
As in hybrids with
combustion engines, the
fuel-cell car uses a
lithium-ion battery with an
output of 35 kW and a
capacity of 1.4 kWh to boost
power and recover braking
energy. Lithium-ion
technology offers several
advantages over conventional
batteries, including compact
dimensions, high
performance, great recharge
efficiency and a long
service life.
The B-Class F-CELL employs
the unique sandwich floor
architecture that is
well-known from the A- and
B-Class. The advantage of
this design is that the
drive components are located
in the sandwich floor, where
they are protected and don't
take up much space so that
the vehicle's interior
remains fully usable and a
boot capacity of 416 litres
is available.
The B-Class F-CELL does not
need to fear comparison
where equipment is concerned
either. Eye-catching
features include a bonamite
silver paint finish and
exclusive light-alloy wheels
in a 10-spoke design. In the
interior, leather
upholstery, seat heating,
automatic climate control
and the COMAND-system, as
well as other features,
continue to ensure a high
level of comfort.
With more than 100 test
vehicles and a combined
total of over 4.5 million
kilometres of trial testing,
Daimler and Mercedes-Benz
have the most extensive
experience with fuel cell
vehicles of any manufacturer
worldwide. The B-Class
F-CELL is further testimony
of this technology's high
level of development for
automotive use. However, a
comprehensive network of
hydrogen filling stations
still has to be set up
before locally zero-emission
driving can become a
widespread reality. To make
this possible, Daimler is
cooperating with government
authorities, energy
utilities and oil companies
in joint projects in places
such as Hamburg, Stuttgart
and California.
Mercedes-Benz views the
development of electric cars
with battery and fuel cell
drives for local
zero-emission driving as a
means of supplementing
vehicles with high-tech
internal combustion engines.
Advanced diesel and petrol
engines will remain
important for automotive
applications for a long time
to come - not only for
individual mobility in
passenger cars - especially
over long distances - but,
more importantly, for
freight transport in trucks.
Electric vehicles, on the
other hand, will
increasingly be used in
urban transport.
