B F-CELL (Germany, 2010)

The B Class F-CELL is a first generation development, based on an A Class system. It is 40% smaller and produces 30% more power at 30% less fuel consumption. In 2010 the first of around 200 vehicles were delivered to customers in the US and Europe.

The B Class can seat five passengers and has 416 litres of boot capacity. The key components of the fuel cell are contained in the under body of the car in order to maintain the interior space, to lower the centre of gravity and guarantee a high standard of crash safety.

As a common concern with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has been safety, Mercedes have worked on making the B Class F-CELL compatable with the European NCAP system rating the car at 5 stars. A valve cuts off any hydrogen from escaping during an accident while the battery is surrounded by high strength steel housing. Mercedes-Benz fuel cell vehicles can now be used in underground car parks, multi-storey car parks and tunnels with no restriction.

The car has a cold-start capability down to minus 25 degrees Celsius with no impairment at all down to minus 15 degrees Celsius. With the tanks full the range of the F-CELL is up to 400km, representing a large improvement over the first generation. A standardised fuelling system should allow refuelling to take less than 3 minutes.

In 2011, Mercedes- Benz drove 3 F-CELL B class around the world, covering more than 30,000 km, in order to prove both the usability and reliability of the zero emission technology and prompting calls for the introduction of a hydrogen infrastructure. At the time, there were approximately 200 hydrogen fuel stations worldwide, with about 1000 needed for a basic nationwide coverage of a country like Germany.

The tour started and finished in front of the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart and crossed 14 countries and 4 continents. The B Class were refueled with hydrogen through a mobile refuelling unit based in a Mercedes Sprinter van.