Thanks to the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL, the employees of the German Federal Ministry of Transport will soon be able to enjoy local zero-emission motoring on business trips.
Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, presented today a B-Class F-CELL fuel-cell electric car to German Federal Minister for Transport Peter Ramsauer in Berlin.
Another B-Class F-CELL was also accepted by NOW GmbH – the National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology.
In the current B-Class F-CELL, the 100 kW/136 hp electric motor, which develops torque of 290 Nm, delivers dynamism from the instant the engine starts to turn. At the same time the B-Class F-CELL achieves an NEDC consumption (New European Driving Cycle) equivalent to only 3.3 liters of fuel (diesel equivalent) per 100 kilometers. With its long range and short refueling times, the B-Class F-CELL combines local zero-emission mobility and high performance with suitability for long distances. At the heart of the drive system is the optimized, latest generation fuel cell system which is compact, powerful, safe and suitable for everyday use.
The fuel cell generates the electrical power on board the vehicle, from a chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen – producing only pure water and zero emissions. The integrated safety concept of the B-Class F-CELL takes the specific characteristics of the innovative drive system into account. The experience garnered over many years by Mercedes-Benz with the electric drive powered with fuel cells from the A-Class F-CELL and the high-voltage technology involving the lithium-ion battery from the S 400 HYBRID went into honing the concept.
In order to gather more experience from everyday use of the vehicle, which will be of benefit for subsequent model series, on the basis of market research data Mercedes-Benz has chosen a representative customer group consisting of fleet operators, public institutions, public figures and private customers as “test drivers”. In all, by 2012 around 90 B-Class F-CELL vehicles will be introduced into the German market. Within the scope of the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP), BMVBS advances the allocation and operation of the B-Class F-CELL. At the same time, the vehicle is also being put to practical everyday use in the USA as well as a number of other countries. It is expected that in 2012 a total of around 200 examples of the environmentally friendly electric cars will be operated on the roads by customers.[wzslider height=”400″ lightbox=”true”]
