Mercedes-Benz B-Class Fuel Cell: The world largest hydrogen vehicle fuel cell fleet experience

Mercedes-Benz put the world largest fuel cell vehicle fleet into operation in December 2009. The B-Class F-Cell was produced 200 times under standard production process at Mercedes-Benz facilities and delivered to customers worldwide. During the production phase it was possible to learn more about all the specific challenges to handle high voltage components like batteries and electric drive as well as hydrogen components like hydrogen tank system and fuel cell system. At the 125^th birthday of the invention of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz launched the “F-Cell World Drive”. The extraordinary positive experience confirmed the technical maturity of the fuel cell electric vehicle technology and at the same time provided the technical guidelines for the definition of the next generation fuel cell program. This event in addition to the daily customer use is giving positive momentum for the introduction of the hydrogen infrastructure. This paper reports on the technical experience of more than 3,3 Million kilometers cumulated so far from the vehicle fleet operation as well as the main technical targets envisioned for the next generation fuel cell electric car. The learning and challenges of the hydrogen infrastructure are also reported as well.