DaimlerChrysler Initiates Fuel Cell Trials at New Test Center
1 November 2000
DaimlerChrysler Initiates Fuel Cell Trials at a New Test Center in California * A new fuel cell vehicle from DaimlerChrysler
* The "California Fuel Cell Partnership" is inaugurated with a series of
fleet tests
* A trailblazing cooperation between automotive manufacturers, government
authorities and energy suppliers
* First fuel cell buses in 2002 and the first fuel cell cars in 2004
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 1 In November, DaimlerChrysler
will be initiating a series of test drives in California for a new fuel cell
vehicle. The new-generation NECAR (New Electric Car), based on the Mercedes-
Benz A-Class, was especially built for the "California Fuel Cell Partnership."
This cooperation between automotive manufacturers, government authorities and
energy suppliers has now opened a 50,000 square-foot base in Sacramento,
Calif. which serves as a development center, maintenance depot and filling
station. The jointly organized fleet tests are being launched simultaneously.
"The initiative we are taking in the California Fuel Cell Partnership
plainly demonstrates DaimlerChrysler's firm resolve to maintain and further
extend its lead in the development of new technologies," said Prof. Klaus-
Dieter Vohringer, member of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG
responsible for research and technology. "Fuel cell drive has the greatest
potential of all alternative drive systems. Thanks to its high efficiency
factor and the opportunity it provides for operation with regenerative fuels,
fuel cell drive represents a veritable milestone along the road to securing
sustainable mobility."
"In the California Fuel Cell Partnership, we have managed to bring
together practically all influential companies and political institutions that
are active in the field of fuel cell technology; they are now joining forces
to consolidate the success of the fuel cell drive," said Prof. Dr. Ferdinand
Panik, head of DaimlerChrysler's fuel cell project group. "We have now
overcome the major technological obstacles facing the development of the fuel
cell drive system. The task at hand is now to reduce the costs of the drive
system even further and to pave the way for rapid introduction of these
automobiles by 2004, for instance by establishing a fuel infrastructure. We
can only be successful in this endeavor if the automotive manufacturers,
energy suppliers and authorities work in cooperation -- this is why we have
initiated the California project."
The California Fuel Cell Partnership was established in April 1999 at the
initiative of DaimlerChrysler, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the
California Energy Commission, the fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power
Systems, Ford Motor Company along with the energy suppliers ARCO, Shell and
Texaco. The cooperation has since been extended to include a number of new
partners such as Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Volkswagen, International Fuel Cells,
the US Departments of Energy and Transportation and the South Coast Air
Quality Management District.
This joint project is aimed at demonstrating the everyday practicality of
fuel cell vehicles, initiating intensive discussion on the topic of fuel cell
infrastructures and preparing the California market for this new technology:
Between 2000 and 2003, the partners intend to test more than fifty cars and
buses incorporating this innovative drive technology under genuine everyday
operating conditions -- on the basis of hydrogen, methanol and perhaps a purer
form of gasoline. DaimlerChrysler is planning to incorporate 15 vehicles
overall into the fleet test by the end of 2003.
25,000 miles of practical tests
Over the next three years, the new NECAR will cover up to 25,000 miles on
the California roads under everyday operation conditions, continually
supplying operational data for further development. Thanks to a new
generation of components and an improved design, this new automobile has
brought DaimlerChrysler a step closer to reaching series maturity for the fuel
cell vehicle.
Unlike the NECAR 4 presented in 1999, the California NECAR operates on
pressurized hydrogen. With its optimized 55-kilowatt electric drive system,
it reaches a top speed of 90 mph and has further refined driving dynamics.
The development engineers have been able to considerably reduce the weight and
volume of both the drive system and the compact fuel cell unit, whose core
comprises a Ballard Mark 900 Stack with an output of 75 kilowatts; for
instance, the stack weighs only about two-thirds that of NECAR 4's unit and
takes up only half as much space. As a result, the entire occupant cell and
luggage compartment can now be used to full capacity.
The use of lightweight components, both in the interior and on the
bodywork, reduces weight even further. Three hydrogen tanks with a maximum
pressure of 350 bar are integrated into the vehicle; with a filling capacity
of about 4 pounds of hydrogen, the new NECAR has an operating range of up to
about 120 miles.
Fuel cells generate electrical power from hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen.
These electric vehicles are the most promising of all alternative drive
systems, combining the benefits of an internal combustion engine with lower
fuel consumption, minimal pollutant emissions and lower noise levels.
Moreover, their efficiency factors are considerably higher than those of
conventional engines. DaimlerChrysler intends to introduce the first fuel
cell buses in 2002 and the first fuel cell cars in 2004.
