Mercedes to Manufacture Fuel Cell Stacks in Canada

Following several years of on going tests, German manufacturer Mercedes Benz has finally decided to go ahead with its plans and get ready for a full line of electric vehicles to be launched in the future. Of course, this was pretty much already known, but it was only this week that the auto maker seems to have made the final decision, as it announced plans to manufacture fuel cell stacks for its future EVs in Canada.

To be located in a 2000 square metre space in Burnaby, the new Mercedes Benz plant in Canada will become operational in 2012, but it will begin series production of fuel cell stacks only one year after that, in 2013.

“To consolidate our leading position in the field of alternative drive systems, we are ensuring direct access to the key technologies involved,” said Herbert Kohler, Mercedes head of e-Drive and Future Mobility.

“Following our systematic development of battery expertise together with Accumotive GmbH in Germany, this decision is a further, major step on the road to emission-free driving."

The fuel cell stacks are key ingredients in the creation of Mercedes' version of an EV. They are, in essence, a series of fuel cells combined in series and parallel circuits. Fuel cells are used to harness the electricity which is generated following the chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen.

Since 2009, Mercedes has been testing the technology on the B-Klasse F-Cell model, three versions of which are currently taking part in a show-and-tell trip around the world. The technology has since been expanded to include Citaro FuelCell Hybrid city bus. As a side note, Mercedes also confirmed F-Cell version for the C- and E-Klasse models.