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

Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...

. Two different versions are known - the previous version was based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and the new model is based on the Mercedes-Benz B-Class. 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 motor 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 a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

, 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 Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), also known as polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, are a type of fuel cell being developed mainly for transport applications, as well as for stationary fuel-cell applications and portable ...

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

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Production

In December 2010, began its B-Class based F-Cell lease program with the first delivery to Vince Van Patten, with a further 69 to be on the roads in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

by 2010.

Hydrogen storage

The 350 Bar (5000

PSI Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ or ψ), the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviat ...

)

hydrogen tank A hydrogen infrastructure is the infrastructure of points of hydrogen production, truck and pipeline transport, and hydrogen stations for the distribution and sale of hydrogen fuel, and thus a crucial prerequisite before a successful commerciali ...

s for

hydrogen storage Several methods exist for storing hydrogen. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand. While large amounts of hydrogen are produced by variou ...

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 DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

Japan as delivery car in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

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 YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

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.

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.

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