Motoring-News

The BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS is part of a family of modularly constructed electric cars, which will enable Mercedes-Benz to meet all customer requirements for sustainable mobility in the future. In this variant of the concept vehicle, the electric motor of the purely battery-powered BlueZERO E-CELL is combined with an additional three-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine. Putting out 50 kW, the compact combustion engine is installed in the area of the rear axle and can charge the battery while the car is being driven. The CO2 bonus for the battery-electric driving mode reduces the vehicle’s emissions to only 32 grams of CO2 per kilometre. The range extender enables the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS to drive for up to 370 miles, of which up to 62 milees can be driven in electric mode with zero local emissions. The long combined range makes the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS fully suitable for everyday use and assures that the customer will reach their destination even with a depleted battery. After all, the car can be refuelled quickly and easily at any normal filling station.

Battery with superior lithium-ion technology
During rapid charging with a charging capacity of 20 kW, the high-performance, 18 kWh lithium-ion battery of the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS can store enough power within around 30 minutes for a 30 mile cruising range. The complete electric range of 100 kilometres requires a charging time of somewhat more than an hour. Charging time is doubled with a standard charge cycle at a conventional household outlet with 3.3 kW. Special on-board electronics support the intelligent charging stations and billing systems used by electric fuelling stations. Advantages of lithium-ion batteries compared to other battery technologies include their compact dimensions, high output and energy density, high charge efficiency and long service life.

Concept BlueZERO — the triad of electric mobility
Mercedes-Benz is showing the way to environmentally compatible electric mobility with the near-series Concept BlueZERO. The vehicle’s intelligent modular concept enables a single vehicle architecture to be used to create three models with different drive system configurations.

* The BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS is equipped with an electric drive and a supplemental combustion engine with an electrical generator (range extender). The car has a total range of up to 370 miles, of which up to 62 miles can be covered solely by electric power.
* Originally presented in Detroit at the beginning of the year, the BlueZERO E‑CELL is propelled exclusively by a battery-powered electric drive that allows the car to travel up to 125 miles on a single battery charge and completely free of local emissions.
* The third drive version is the fuel cell powered BlueZERO F-CELL, with a range of about 250 miles on electric power and therefore also without any local emissions.

All three BlueZERO models feature front-wheel drive, which is typical for this class of car. The drive components have been modularly organised by the Mercedes engineers and can be combined as needed. These include state-of-the-art liquid-cooled lithium-ion batteries with up to 35 kWh capacity, and a compact electric motor with a maximum output of 100 kW (sustained output: 70 kW). The maximum torque of 320 Nm is available from the electric motor’s first revolution, and it surpasses the value attained by today’s V6 petrol engines at 2,500 rpm. Like its two sister models, the BlueZERO E-CELL and the BlueZERO F-CELL, the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in less than eleven seconds. To ensure optimum range and energy efficiency, the top speed is electronically limited to 90 mph.

‘The Concept BlueZERO offers a triple demonstration of the technical maturity of alternative drive systems from Mercedes-Benz. Electric vehicles with battery electric or fuel cell drive systems will not truly be on an equal footing with today’s combustion engine drive systems until customers are confident that there is a sufficient infrastructure of electricity and hydrogen refuelling stations,’ says Prof. Herbert Kohler, Head of E-Drive and Future Mobility and also Chief Environmental Officer at Daimler.

Concept BlueZERO: Modular architecture for flexibility and efficiency
The three BlueZERO variants were developed on the basis of the unique sandwich-floor architecture known from the A-Class and B-Class. The advantage of the enhanced design is that the key drive components are installed in the vehicle’s underbody in such a way that they take up little space, ensure a good centre of gravity, and are maximally protected. The BlueZERO models therefore differ considerably from conventionally designed electric cars, which have heavy and voluminous storage batteries installed in the boot, for example, or in the area of the backseat. All three BlueZERO variants share key technological components and have identical designs and vehicle dimensions. Even though they have compact exterior dimensions, the 4.22-meter-long BlueZERO models have a spacious and versatile interior and cargo space. The vehicles’ five full-size seats, approximately 450 kilograms of payload, and more than 500 litres of cargo capacity make them suitable family cars.

‘Our modular system permits different drive configurations for each customer requirement,’ says Dr. Thomas Weber, the Daimler Board of Management Member responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. ‘The improved sandwich floor platform serves as the perfect basis for a diverse range of vehicles with electric drives. We are currently developing an additional platform for future compact models that have drive systems using optimized internal combustion engines. The smart linking of both architectures will allow us to expand our product range in an extremely flexible and efficient manner. During 2009, we will manufacture the first small batch of Mercedes fuel cell cars. In 2010, they will be followed by a small batch of Mercedes-Benz vehicles that run solely on electric power supplied by a battery. Thanks to these measures, we are in a excellent position for the future.’