 | | | 100 Mercedes-Benz FC-Vehicles Being Tested Worldwide |
At the end of 2004, there are already 100 Mercedes-Benz vehicles powered by fuel cells being driven under hard everyday conditions in four regions of Asia, North America and Europe, some of them in the most difficult climatic conditions, as part of the "Project F-Cell".
60 A-Class F-Cell saloon cars will be driven until 2007 by a great variety of customers and drivers and during this period they will cover about 16,000 kilometres or 10,000 miles a year and be running for at least 500 hours. All in all, that means that the running performance of all the F-Cells will amount to about two million kilometres with an operational time of about 60,000 hours. This means that these A-Class saloons will chalk up a great deal more driving practice that all the other FC-vehicles being tested by competitors in the field.
The 36 buses driving in ten European cities, in Australia – and soon in China – will be covering even more kilometres and proving their reliability in regular daily bus services. To round off, the Mercedes-Benz FC-Sprinter will be doing its duty for UPS in the USA under the Chrysler brand Dodge.
The saloons, transporters and buses have been built as small batches and are based to a great extent on standard Mercedes-Benz models, but instead of the drivetrain normally used in vehicles with combustion engines, they will be fitted with a corresponding FC drive.
Hand in hand with the tests with these vehicles, the hydrogen infra-structure is also being optimized, i. e. the production, transport and storage of hydrogen both as liquid and gas.
This work also includes running tests in connection with a further increase in the pressure in the tank over 350 bar in order to be able to have a greater working range.
This is the most comprehensive test up to now of this future-oriented drive system from DaimlerChrysler which is not only ecologically friendly but also saves resources. The company is therefore still leading in the development and testing of this electro-drive based on fuel cell technology. It is suitable for use over long distances and at present there is no sensible alternative.
With the introduction of these small batches of vehicles in fall, 2002, the phase of the Mercedes-Benz NECAR test vehicles was brought to an end. |
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