2011 Mercedes-Benz B-class F-Cell
This May, the Mercedes-Benz Class BF-Cell will be the second fuel cell powered car to be delivered to consumers FCX (Honda Clarity of being the first). What you may not know is that Mercedes-Benz was the first manufacturer to produce a vehicle fuel call. Nicknamed NECAR (New Electric Car), which debuted in 1994 and was a van car. Its fuel cell, battery, electric drive unit and associated control devices occupying the interior space, making the van would be impractical for consumers, or anything other than research and marketing.
In 1999, Mercedes-Benz has reduced the size of your system enough that it can fit on the floor sandwich architecture of the A-class. That version never reached production, but in 2004, 10 residents of Berlin were fuel cell powered A-class license. The vehicles were direct precursors to the 2011-B class, which is included here.
Did You Sleep Through science class?
The Class B is based on the architecture of a class. The design of the aforementioned sandwich (a vacuum gap under the cabin floor, among other things, funnels the engine below the passenger in a frontal collision) makes it an ideal candidate for alternative propulsion systems, providing a place to put some of the technology. This class B actually has internal dimensions identical to its gas and diesel brethren. The only notable difference in the interior is the lack of a mobile loading platform, the platform is locked in the upper (normal to the untrained eye) position to make room for the battery.
What makes this B-Class F-Cell car zero emissions is the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Yes, it’s a mouthful. The simple explanation is that the fuel cell converts the high-pressure hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2, gathered from the air) into electrical energy and water (H2O). Chemistry is a luxury, but reduces the reverse of electrolysis. If you remember junior high science, when an electric current was presented to H20, the result is H2 and O2. For the fuel cell to produce energy and H2O, H2 is fed through a membrane that allows protons H2, but H2 electrons to pass. Protons join the O2 on the other side of the membrane to complete H20, and the remaining electrons H2 (once the poles are aligned) to generate an electrical current, thus feeding an electric motor vehicle. Understood? If not, just remember that electrolysis is reversed, and that will survive a conversation with anyone with a liberal-arts.
In reality the movement B-Class F-Cell from point A to point B is a 134-hp electric motor mated to a single-speed, direct drive transmission. When starting the engine gets its juice to go from a 1.4 kWh lithium-ion series. The battery cells are the same as those used in the Mercedes S400 own hybrid ‘, although there are many more of them here. The fuel cell is activated at about 7 mph, delivering the necessary power. The change is imperceptible unless one is looking at energy flow screen reading (similar to show any hybrid). Both fuel cell and battery juice simultaneously, but only for brief moments, like when passing on the road. It is similar to an overboost function in a turbocharged engine. You can carry the momentum of the battery by activating the stop Kickdown on the throttle and the extra grunt can be felt.
Lease, maybe buy later
California will receive the majority of the 70 or so F-Cell B scheduled for the U.S., with a few hours in Washington DC, too. The first will be on the road in May. Mercedes is following Honda’s approach to ownership of the fuel cell: No one can own, at least for now. All classes will be leased B-(all maintenance and accident repairs included) for about the cost of a well optioned C-class. That translates into a monthly payment of about $ 800 – $ 1000, which is a bit more than $ 600 per month under the command of clarity. In addition, Mercedes is not sure how many people will get a B-class. The company wants as many people driving cars as possible and he hoped for a majority of the U.S. allocation in the fleets. So the Hertz LAX can get a couple of rent.
The hydrogen infrastructure is a major limiting factors to get hydrogen cars into the garages of the masses. This car of three 10,153 psi carbon-fiber tanks (total capacity is 8.2 pounds) require H2 flow of about 11,600 psi to boot in about three minutes. In comparison, stores H2 FCX to 5000 psi, a pressure of more hydrogen stations can run at, which means that there are more places available refueling. Merc’s range is about 250 miles in combined driving situations, so the owners do not want to travel far from adequate service station, 11 stations are planned for the Los Angeles area in late 2010. Mercedes says that there will be 40 such stations in 2015. That’s good, because it also plans to sell, sell, yes, just leased fuel cell vehicles in the U.S. 2015. We believe that when we see it.
It remains a real car
The utility of the hatchback makes sense to us, but most of our fellow citizens would not be caught dead in one. Maybe the B-class advanced technology able to influence them. The high ceiling allows a good image and rear space, and not enough room in the back seat for two adults and three could squeeze in a short trip. As mentioned before, the cargo space is somewhat limited compared to a regular class B, but there is plenty of room for a weekend getaway for four people.
Driving the F-Cell is relatively benign. No actuator sounds weird, no beeps. And there will be clean energy gimmicky slogans smeared on the doors, like our test car in Europe. The car weighs about 3750 pounds (about 550 pounds more than an internal combustion level B-class) and accelerates like any small European compact slowly by U.S. standards. The power-to-weight ratio is slightly worse than the FCX, so that 0-to-60-mph runs in half of nine is expected, like a quarter-mile runs in the high 17s. However, the low-end torque (maximum torque available at 0 rpm) makes it more lively fell. Fully electric steering comes with no real feel, but not expected. The F-Cell uses regenerative braking and this usually causes a feeling totally relaxed and non-linear brake pedal. But they feel the brakes, although light, is surprisingly smooth and linear, especially when compared with the pedal in the S400. Around the city, the car is strangely silent, with a little hum of the engine.
Abundant Energy
So where does hydrogen come from? Well, is the most abundant element in the universe. It’s in the air we breathe. A group that burned on the Hindenburg. And some Americans eat their H2 cars will come from places of cultivation H2. The cleanest use of renewable energy such as wind, power collectors. Hydrogen is also a byproduct of some manufacturing processes of biomass. There is enough production to around 750,000 vehicles a year, so Mercedes has a long way to go if they want to use all that H2 product. The first step is to make technology affordable, but if the inventor of the car ends up making the production of vehicles powered by fuel cells, then it is likely that the technology is here to stay.
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