Mercedes unveils Fuel Cell BlueZERO
Mercedes has unveiled its latest fuel cell car, the BlueZERO, at this week’s Detroit Motor Show. The concept BlueZERO is based on a modular vehicle architecture, meaning that the vehicle can be built with a range of powertrains, including fuel cells.
The BlueZERO F-Cell is powered by a fuel cell that gives a range of over 240 miles. A pure battery version of the car, the BlueZERO E-Cell, and an electric-petrol hybrid, the BlueZERO E-Cell Plus, have also been unveiled.
The BlueZERO is built using the sandwich-floor technique developed for the compact, European market A-Class, which enables the major drive components to be packaged low in the vehicle, and maximum interior room relative to the vehicle footprint. Although just 166in long overall, Mercedes claims the BlueZERO is a full five seater with 17.65 cu ft of luggage capacity.
Mercedes R&D boss Thomas Weber has been reported as saying says the company will build small numbers of fuel cell vehicles this year, and small numbers of battery-electric vehicles in 2010. A key element of making the Concept BlueZERO a reality, says Weber, is scalable lithium-ion battery production in the company's own factory. Daimler last month invested in a partnership with Evonik Industries, a company that specializes in chemicals, energy and real estate, to ensure the development and production of Evonik's flat-cell lithium ion battery technology.
Source: Fuel Cell Today