Fuel-cell cars are electric vehicles that make their own electric power on board instead of relying on batteries. Fuel cells are considered the cleanest and most promising propulsion system for the future. In 1994, Mercedes-Benz became the first car company to debut a fuel cell vehicle, and last year its NECAR 5 became the first fuel-cell car to successfully complete a coast-to-coast trip from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.
In a fuel cell, hydrogen gas flows along one side of a special membrane, and air flows along the other side. The PEM (for proton exchange membrane) allows hydrogen and oxygen to combine without combustion, creating electric current instead of producing high heat. Fuel cells are significantly more efficient than combustion engines, and most important, the only exhaust produced is water.
The Mercedes-Benz F-Cell fleet represents a next step in the production of zero-emission vehicles. The hydrogen-powered F-Cell cars are being built in conventional manufacturing facilities and will be tested by corporate and municipal customers for feedback in "everyday-use" situations. While the development of automotive fuel cells has made enormous progress in the past few years, some major challenges still remain. The cost of fuel- cell vehicles must be reduced to compete with conventional engine technology, while the production of hydrogen fuel and development of a refueling infrastructure needs to be established and standardized.
"Fuel cell technology gives us the opportunity to bring mobility together with environmental compatibility and make a major contribution to society," says Professor Juergen Hubbert, DaimlerChrysler AG board member in charge of the Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and smart passenger car division. "To enable the fuel cell to go on the market in the foreseeable future, most importantly the fuel and infrastructure issues must be clarified in a worldwide initiative, jointly with the political community, the mineral oil industry and the energy sector. Development engineers, too, still face numerous challenges, referring mainly to the further reduction of weight and cost as well as the improvement of reliability and durability. In this field, manufacturers should cooperate more intensively so as to promote the breakthrough of this key technology."
