The F-Cell is a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle developed by

Daimler AG The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactu ...

. Two different versions are known - the previous version was based on the

Mercedes-Benz A-Class The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a subcompact car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz as the brand's entry-level vehicle. The first generation (internally coded W168) was introduced in 1997, the second generation (W169) in ...

, and the new model is based on the

Mercedes-Benz B-Class The Mercedes-Benz B-Class is a subcompact executive car manufactured and marketed by Mercedes-Benz since 2005. Based on the A-Class with larger dimensions, the European New Car Assessment Programme ( Euro NCAP) classifies it as a small MPV. As ...

. The first generation F-Cell was introduced in 2002, and had a range of , with a top speed of . The current B-Class F-CELL has a more powerful electric engine rated at , and a range of about . This improvement in range is due in part to the B-Class's greater space for holding tanks of compressed

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...

, higher storage pressure, as well as fuel cell technology advances. Both cars have made use of a "sandwich" design concept, aimed at maximizing room for both passengers and the propulsion components. The fuel cell is a

proton exchange membrane fuel cell A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...

(PEMFC), designed by the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC) Corporation. There are 60 F-Cell vehicles leased to customers in the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and Japan.

Production

In December 2010, began its B-Class based F-Cell lease program with the first delivery to

Vince Van Patten Vincent Van Patten (born October 17, 1957) is an American actor, former professional tennis player, and the commentator for the World Poker Tour. Personal life Van Patten was born in Bellerose, New York, as the youngest son of actor Dick Van Pa ...

, with a further 69 to be on the roads in California by 2010.

Hydrogen storage

The 350 Bar (5000

PSI Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviatio ...

)

hydrogen tank A hydrogen tank (other names- cartridge or canister) is used for hydrogen storage. The first type IV hydrogen tanks for compressed hydrogen at were demonstrated in 2001, the first fuel cell vehicles on the road with type IV tanks are the Toyota ...

s for

hydrogen storage Hydrogen storage can be accomplished by several existing methods of holding hydrogen for later use. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand ...

contain enough fuel for a drive. Using 700 Bar (10000

) tanks the range is extended 70% to .

Notable publicity

* On May 23, 2006, Daimler announced that its fuel cell vehicle fleets had achieved a combined mileage of over 2 million kilometers (1.24 million miles). * On May 31, 2006, Daimler revealed that select individuals in California would be able to take their driving examination in an F-Cell. * On July 6, 2006, Daimler leased 1 F-Cell to DHL Japan as delivery car in Tokyo area. * On January 30, 2011, three F-Cell vehicles start on a 125-day long-lasting journey around the world. * On June 21, 2011, Daimler announced it was moving up commercialization of the B-Class F-CELL to 2014 * On Jan 31, 2014 YouTube video uploaded of new F-cell fuel cell, no information known otherwise.

Recognition

The Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell was selected by '' Green Car Journal'' as one of the five finalists to the 2012

Green Car Vision Award The Green Car Vision Award is an annual award granted by the ''Green Car Journal''. In contrast with its Green Car of the Year award, which only considers production vehicles that make the most significant environmental advancements, the Gree ...

Gallery

File:Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell--DC.jpg , Original A-Class based F-Cell. File:Mercedes-Benz A Class F-Cell rear.JPG , Original A-Class based F-Cell. File:Mercedes-Benz F-Cell WAS 2010 8926.JPG , B-Class based F-Cell exhibited at the 2010

Washington Auto Show The Washington, D.C. Auto Show (WAS) is an annual local auto show held in Washington, D.C. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center usually in late January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America, trailing only the North Amer ...

References

External links

Road test on USAtoday.com

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20210422190848/http://magazine.ucla.edu/depts/quicktakes/hydrogen_car/ UCLA-Driving the F-Cell
Mercedes-Benz Leasing
(in German)
Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL
{{Mercedes-Benz Hydrogen cars Fuel cell vehicles F-Cell