The oldest car-making company Mercedes-Benz will spend over $7,849,800,000 (€7 billion) in producing their Smart lineup of greener city cars.
Mercedes-Benz has now revealed a fuel-cell prototype ride, which will be available in 2017. This unique hydrogen fuel cell car that carries the GLC platform will be featured at the prestigious 2017 Frankfurt Auto Show.
According to Motor Authority, Mercedes-Benz introduced their first vehicle that runs on hydrogen fuel cell in its B-Class F-Cell model in 2009. The vehicles are not actually marketed publicly, but are leased to fleet buyers and a small number of enthusiasts to learn about its usage potentials.
Fuel cell cars rely mainly on fuel cells similar to electric cars only that it draws power from batteries. Fuel cell is derived from the process of combining hydrogen and oxygen which produces electricity and water as byproducts. The electricity generated powers an electric motor, while water is then released or freed to the atmosphere.
Mercedes-Benz new GLC F-Cell prototype car is one unique vehicle for it has a sizeable rechargeable battery which can be charged through conventional power outlet, making it an efficient hydrogen-electric plug-in hybrid ride.
The GLC F-Cell is a compact prototype with an economical fuel cell stack, 9.0kWh lithium-ion battery and two hydrogen storage chambers which can store about 8.8 lbs. of hydrogen.
Mercedes says the prototype can travel over 300 miles at a fully charged battery and hydrogen tanks filled. On battery power alone, the GLC F-Cell can expect a range of approximately 30 miles.
In a statement by Prof Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, he stated that this is only the beginning.
Weber also added, "We will invest 14.5 billion euro in research and development in the next two years alone -- more than half of it will again be spent on 'green' technologies. Just for our passenger cars, we are talking about 5.4 billion euro," he said.
Related news reported by Yahoo News Singapore stated that Mercedes-Benz is also developing filters in particular to its gasoline engines. The automaker also added that a 48-volt operating system is also under development which will boost efficiency estimates to new levels. Such development will provide the first Mercedez-Benz plug-in hybrid with a capability of travelling to more than 50 kilometers using battery power alone.
