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Mercedes-Benz launches its first production fuel cell car

Posted by Hootan Mahallati | August 28, 2009 | In green mercedes-benz news

Time to eat a little crow. A little over two weeks ago, I posted this opinion piece on fuel cell vehicles and complained that Daimler-Benz had seemingly forgotten about its promise to bring a fuel cell vehicle to the market by 2010. I stand corrected, as Mercedes-Benz has launched its first production fuel cell vehicle, the ingeniously-named B-Class F-CELL.

As the name suggests, the car is based on the B-Class, 200 of which will be built later this year and delivered to European and American lease customers in 2010. Mercedes seems to have gotten around the perennial problem with fuel cells: cold temperature startup. The F-CELL will start in temperatures as cold as -13F (the Honda Clarity FCX manages -22F).

Mercedes-Benz compares its F-CELL’s performance to that of its 1.8L gasoline-enined B-Class. Here is how they compare:

Mercedes-Benz B180 SE BlueEfficiency
Engine: 1.8L inline-four gasoline engine
Power: 114 hp
Torque: 114 lb-ft

Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL
Engine: Electric motor, powered by fuel cell + Li-Ion battery
Power: 134 hp
Torque: 214 lb-ft

The F-CELL has a range of 250 miles and manages 72.1 mpg with its zero-emissions powertrain. A 35kW Li-ion battery stores power wasted under acceleration and heavy braking. The good news is that all this complex technology has not affected cargo volume or crash safety when compared to the B180. The best news, however, is that F-CELL owners will not pay the electric plug-in waiting-game price for being green: it will take them all of three minutes to fill up with hydrogen at the pump.

[Source: Autocar]

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