Mercedes B-Klasse F-CELL Guiding Aircrafts

Stuttgart has just become the first German airport to use a fuel cell-powered electric car as a "follow me" vehicle, Daimler announced today, as its Mercedes-Benz B-Klasse F-CELL was the one to take the job. Wearing a black and yellow livery, the B-Klasse F-CELL will help guide the aircrafts around the runways.

The vehicle can be refueled with hydrogen in less than three minutes at a dedicated station from the airport campus, giving it a range of around 400 km.

"So, as you can see, we are keeping up with the latest technological developments in ground-based drive systems," stated Walter Schoefer, Managing Director of the company operating the airport, Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH.

The model is powered by a fuel cell system that includes a 136 hp electric motor (290 Nm of torque) and works based on the chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen. A fuel cell system generates electricity from this reaction, with the only byproduct of the process being water.

The company also claims the B-Klasse F-CELL achieves the equivalent of an NEDC consumption figure (New European Drive Cycle) of 3.3 litres of fuel (diesel equivalent) per 100 kilometres.

The model was already tested by the three-pointed star brand in the recent F-CELL World Drive. Between late January and early June, three Mercedes-Benz B-Klasse F-CELL vehicles drove around the world – covering a distance of more than 30,000 kilometres across four continents and through 14 countries.

“With this circumnavigation of the globe, Daimler was also able to draw attention to the need for a broad-based hydrogen infrastructure. As a catalyst for this process, the company will therefore be working with Linde AG to establish an initial 20 hydrogen refuelling stations,” the auto giant explains.