Mercedes-Benz To Introduce B-Class Fuel Cell Car For 2010

Mercedes-Benz will introduce a limited series of their B-Class car as a hydrogen fuel cell powered version for 2010. The new B-Class F-CELL (FCELL) utilises Mercedes-Benz's most advanced fuel cell technology with the design of the new fuel cell stack being 40% smaller in size, having 30% more available peak power, and providing an overall efficiency gain of 16% over previous versions.

An automobile hydrogen fuel cell stack converts hydrogen gas into electricity and the energy from this process is used to power the vehicle's electric motor drive system. The only emissions from this process are water and some heat making cars equipped with hydrogen fuel cell technology zero emissions vehicles (ZEV's). The major difference for the driver is that refuelling of the vehicle is done with hydrogen and not gasoline or diesel.

Mercedes-Benz has recently announced a move to 700-bar hydrogen storage systems for their B-Class and A-Class F-CELL development cars. The higher pressure storage gives the B-Class an extended range of 270 km (169 miles). The Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL is quick with a powerful 100 kW (134 hp) peak power electric motor and a maximum torque of 320 N.m providing the acceleration equivalent times and driving performance of a 2.0 litre gasoline engine.