Daimler Bets on Hydrogen

For several years, the Germans from Daimler have been pushing forward with their hydrogen plans, surrounded by a world of car makers developing battery-based electric vehicles. Their choice, odd as it may have seemed some years ago, is based on clear projections that, in the near future, the price of both types of vehicles will decline to a level which would make them a real choice for consumers.

In an interview with Automotive News, Herbert Kohler, head of e-drive and future mobility at Daimler said that, out of the two types of electric vehicles, the fuel cell-powered cars would likely benefit the most from the decrease in prices.

"A few years ago, the price was at about 1,500 euros per kilowatt hour for a lithium ion battery. In the midterm we should be at a level of 400 euros,” Kohler told the source. "By 2015, we think a fuel cell car will not cost more than a four-cylinder diesel hybrid that meets the Euro 6 emissions standard.”

This is why, by the middle of the decade, Daimler plans to bring onto the market “a four-digit-number of fuel cell vehicles.” Most of them will be, of course, B-Klasse vehicles, the model on which Daimler is experimenting the most with the alternative power train.

Currently being deployed in several test markets around the world, the B-Klasse F-Cell uses the chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen (whose only byproduct is water) to power its systems.

The fuel cell system which comprises a 136 hp electric motor (290 Nm of torque) with cold-start capability provides a range of 250 miles (400 km).