A 65 kW electric motor accelerates the A-Class to a 140 km/h top speed

The whole fuel cell system is accommodated in the sandwich floor construction of the A-Class with long wheelbase. The car’s fuel tanks contain hydrogen compressed under 350-bar pressure and give the A-Class Fuel Cell an operating range of some 150 kilometres. Hydrogen consumption is equivalent to 4.2 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres.

The electric motor generates 65 kW, accelerating the compact Mercedes from 0 to 100 km/h in 16 seconds and on to a maximum speed of 140 km/h – enough power to equip the Fuel Cell for everyday conditions out on the road.

Much development work remains before the Fuel Cell can be made available to the wider public, but this responsibility cannot be shouldered by a vehicle manufacturer alone. If fuel-cell drive systems are to come onto the market in the foreseeable future, Mercedes-Benz engineers insist that the question of fuel and the supply infrastructure first has to be addressed by a global initiative bringing together politicians, the mineral oil industry and the energy sector. Plus, the development engineers themselves still have a number of challenges to overcome, not least as far as further reductions in weight and cost, as well as improvements in reliability and service life, are concerned.