Getting Used To Seeing Steam 'Zero Emissions' Exhaust

The Mercedes-Benz Citaro F-CELL Bus is a zero emissions vehicle and is probably the future for public transportation. The Citaro F-CELL (FCELL) runs off hydrogen gas and has its gas cylinders stored on the roof of the bus. It is capable of a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) and does this while producing zero emissions steam (water plus heat) as an exhaust. 

The Citaro F-CELL can carry up to 70 passengers and it has a range of approximately 200 km (125 miles) before it requires a hydrogen recharge. The hydrogen fuel cell stack converts the hydrogen into electricity which in combination with onboard batteries is used to power a 200 kW electric motor.

Mercedes-Benz's F-CELL bus will be one of the vehicle types that starts to replace other transport buses as Mercedes-Benz takes a leadership position in the production of zero emissions transit vehicles. Currently the Citaro F-CELL is undergoing trials and refinement in major city centres with a fleet of 36 vehicles operating globally. A second generation Citaro F-CELL bus is expected to be completed by Mercedes-Benz by 2009. It will undergo trials and the anticipation is that this next generation model will eventually go into full-scale production.