BERLIN: Mercedes-Benz has handed over the first GLC F-CELL vehicles to selected customers in its home market.
The GLC F-CELL is unique as it features both fuel cells and a battery drive which can be charged externally using plug-in technology.
Alongside various national and regional ministries as well as the National Organisation Hydrogen (NOW) and H2 Mobility, the first customers in the German market also include Deutsche Bahn, the German railways.
Further handovers will also be made this year, including to the companies Air Liquide, Shell, Linde AG and also the cities of Stuttgart and Hamburg. Other business as well as private customers in Germany will also be able to enjoy access to the GLC F-CELL from the spring of 2019 via Mercedes-Benz Rent.
The GLC F-CELL is a plug-in hybrid that is powered by electricity and hydrogen. Mercedes-Benz claims the all-electric SUV is suitable for everyday use and emits no CO2 emissions in operation.
The interplay between battery and fuel cell, a long range and short refuelling times make the GLC F-CELL a vehicle which boasts high everyday practicality. Two carbon-fibre-encased tanks in the vehicle floor hold 4.4 kg of hydrogen.
Thanks to globally standardised 700-bar tank technology, the hydrogen supply can be replenished within just three minutes – as quickly as is customary when refuelling a combustion-engined car. With a hydrogen consumption of around 1 kg/100 km, the GLC F-CELL achieves around 430 hydrogen-based kilometres in the NEDC cycle; in hybrid mode it additionally delivers up to 51 km on a fully charged battery. At the same time, an output of 155 kW helps to ensure high driving dynamics.
The GLC F-CELL has a combined hydrogen consumption of 0.34 kg/100 km and combined electrical consumption of 13.7 kWh/100 km.
The plug-in fuel cell drive combines both zero-emission drive technologies and, thanks to its intelligent operating strategy, continuously optimises the use of both energy sources in line with the current operating situation. This is also influenced by the selected drive program: ECO, COMFORT or SPORT.
The car has four operating modes:
> HYBRID: the vehicle draws power from both energy sources. Power peaks are handled by the battery, while the fuel cell runs in the optimum efficiency range.
> F-CELL: the state of charge of the high-voltage battery is kept constant by the energy from the fuel cell. Only hydrogen is consumed. This mode is ideal for steady cruising over long distances.
> BATTERY: the GLC F-CELL runs all-electrically and is powered by the high-voltage battery. The fuel cell system is not in operation. This is the ideal mode for short distances.
> CHARGE: charging the high-voltage battery has priority, for example in order to recharge the battery for the maximum overall range prior to refuelling with hydrogen or to create power reserves.
In all operating modes, the system features an energy recovery function, which makes it possible to recover energy during braking or coasting and to store it in the battery.
As hydrogen filling stations are still limited, the market launch of the GLC F-CELL is taking place in selected urban areas. Mercedes-Bnez is focusing on major cities which are already comparatively well equipped with hydrogen filling stations, such as Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Cologne.
The GLC F-CELL will be offered exclusively in the form of a full-service rental model. This will include all maintenance and possible repairs together with a comprehensive warranty package covering the entire rental period.
From the spring of 2019, other business as well as private customers will also be able to experience the new fuel cell technology and rent the vehicle via Mercedes-Benz Rent from one of the seven GLC F-CELL outlets throughout Germany. The GLC F-CELL will be available for both short and long-term rental via the Premium Car Rental service from Mercedes-Benz.
By the end of 2019, the hydrogen refuelling station network is expected to grow from its current level of 50 to some 100 stations. The long-term objective of the partners is a network of up to 400 hydrogen refuelling stations. Similar infrastructure projects are being promoted in Europe, the USA and Japan.
Daimler is part of Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME), a lighthouse project promoted by FCH JU which combines Europe’s leading initiatives in the field of hydrogen mobility – in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.
Daimler has been working on the fuel cell for more than 30 years. Its researchers have been working on fuel cell technology since the 1980s. In 1994, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the first fuel cell vehicle to the global public: the NECAR
Keyword: Mercedes-Benz presents first electric-hydrogen-powered GLCs to German customers