Mark
Staff member
View the Post on the BlogIn the F-CELL World Drive, three Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL cars are being driven around the world in 125 days.
Projects with a future.For a mobile future. Daimler creates initiatives for the infrastructure and mobility.
Daimler is supporting the establishment of a close-knit infra- structure for demand-based electromobility.
However, this calls for investments that can only be shouldered through a concerted effort in conjunction with partners from the industry. According to a recent McKinsey study, setting up an appropriate infrastructure for around a million fuel cell vehicles in Europe by 2020 will cost about three billion euros. As part of the H2 Mobility initiative for Germany, we are expecting demand for 1,000 hydrogen filling stations; this will entail an overall investment of one billion euros. An appropriate infrastructure is also required for battery-powered vehicles. We are assuming a demand for 400,000 charging points to be installed by 2020, which calls for an investment of up to two billion euros. Daimler will continue contributing to the development of the infrastructure with a holistic approach, for example as a member of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) for the promotion of hydrogen as a fuel of the future. Only by this means can a convincing overall solution be realized, from the vehicles themselves up to a charging and refueling infrastructure for electricity and hydrogen.
Ambassadors of the fuel cell.
Electric cars with fuel cells can revolutionize our mobility once again. The vehicle technology of the B-Class F-CELL has reached maturity, but the refueling infrastructure remains a limiting factor. To demonstrate the efficiency and everyday practicality of this pioneering technology while at the same time pressing ahead with the development of a global hydrogen filling station network, the F-CELL World Drive with the B-Class F-CELL was launched on 29 January, 2011 – one day after the official 125th birthday of the automobile: around the world in 125 days over around 30,000 kilometers, through highly diverse climate zones, and over a wide variety of road surfaces from asphalt to gravel. The B-Class F-CELL has thus become the global ambassador of a new, locally emission-free mobility of the future. To secure fuel supplies for the cars throughout all stages of this tour, hydrogen tank vehicles are stationed at the various starting and end points. The objective is to ensure that drivers can refuel with hydrogen anywhere in the world in future – as with gasoline and diesel today.
The H2 Mobility initiative for a hydrogen infrastructure.
In September 2009, the leading industrial enterprises reached an agreement on the establishment of a close-knit hydrogen supply infrastructure for Germany. Daimler, EnBW, Linde, OMV, Shell, Total, Vattenfall, and the National Organization for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW) have the common aim of expediting series manufacture of electric vehicles with fuel cell. The memo- randum of understanding is based on an initiative by Daimler and Linde concerning the establishment of a comprehensive hydrogen filling station network.
e-mobility: The future is electric.
With its intelligent, solution-oriented approach, the e-mobility project of Daimler together with partners from the political sphere and energy suppliers is answering the question of how electro- mobility can be made economically viable in practice. Electric vehicles of the Mercedes-Benz and smart brands have already proved successful since 2009 in e-mobility projects in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Further markets include Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and North America (the United States and Canada). Daimler, for example, is providing over 100 electric vehicles for the Berlin project; and the partner RWE is installing 500 electric charging stations throughout the city that are to be supplied exclusively by electricity from renewable sources.
Baden-Württemberg is set to become a model region for electromobility.
The e-mobility Baden-Württemberg initiative was jointly launched by EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG and Daimler in June 2010. Its objective is to transform the state of birth of the auto- mobile into a model region for locally emission-free electromo- bility within the next two years. The initiative’s starting point is the state capital, Stuttgart; a further regional focus will be Karlsruhe. EnBW is contributing its expertise in energy logistics to this strategic partnership for the development of intelligent, customer- friendly battery charging models and in network management and control, and is providing a diversified blend of energy sources. As a supplement to the ongoing e-mobility projects, the new initiative is specifically focused on diversity.
The e-mobility project is setting out to establish worldwide open standards and to expedite the development of vehicle technology and an intelligent infrastructure.
Electromobility is feasible in all areas of mobility
About 200 vehicles of the smart and Mercedes-Benz brands equipped with either battery-electric or fuel cell drive are on the move for the e-mobility Baden-Württemberg initiative: the Mercedes-Benz A-Class E-CELL and B-Class F-CELL models, the Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL and Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid, and the smart fortwo electric drive.
As the inventor of the car and the truck, Daimler is demonstrating that electromobility is feasible in all major areas of mobility – both in individual travel and in goods and public transport. EnBW will have established more than 700 electric charging points and either two or three hydrogen filling stations throughout Baden-Württemberg by the end of 2011. The company’s public charging stations are supplied exclusively with hydroelectric power.
Modern mobility concepts for the city.
In the car2go mobility concept launched in Ulm in late 2008, Daimler is meeting customer demands for flexible urban mobility. In the area of Ulm and Neu-Ulm, and since late 2009 in Austin, Texas, USA, the initiative provides smart fortwo vehicles that can be hired at any time of day or night following initial registration – and can simply be left on a designated parking space or on a public street after use. Usage is charged on a minute-to-minute basis; this fee covers tax, insurance, mileage, and even fuel.
In view of the high level of customer acceptance, in March 2011 the vehicle fleet was not only boosted by 50 percent, but also completely updated: The smart fortwo car2go edition is the world’s first factory-configured car-sharing vehicle, fitted with start-stop function, newly developed telematics, and a solar roof to relieve the load on electrical consumers.
In Ulm, Neu-Ulm, and Austin alone, car2go has already registered impressive figures after a good two years: car2go is availed of by more than 35,000 customers, who have rented cars more than 600,000 times overall. The extension of this car-sharing project is therefore in full swing: The Hanseatic City of Hamburg was added in April 2011, and car2go was likewise presented in Vancouver, Canada, in early 2011. And by the end of the year, this innovative mobility program will also have been introduced in Amsterdam. Requests by further cities have also been received for this creative, versatile, and economical mobility initiative for the inner-city traffic of tomorrow.
Daimler has developed a further innovative urban mobility concept that allows users to remain flexibly and independently mobile without a car of their own. With car2gether, Daimler has been offering a modern form of ride-sharing since September 2010. car2gether is a web-based carpool community that can pro- cess and communicate offers from drivers and requests from prospective passengers. Matched ride-share offers can be rapidly communicated via smartphone while on the move or from a home computer – practically on a real-time basis. By this means, rides in the project cities of Ulm and Aachen can be organized on the spur of the moment; the system is excellently suited for everyday use and can reduce the burden on the environment.
car2go – an intelligent mobility concept with the slogan “Just get in and drive off” – has been chosen for the ÖkoGlobe (EgoGlobe) award. The intelligent mobility concept car2gether is the basis of “ride-sharing 2.0.”
Buses to the fore.
A further mobility concept for the future, especially for rapidly growing major cities, is the bus rapid transit system (BRT). Line- service buses traveling at short intervals are allotted separate lanes of traffic with their own traffic light phases. Buses are given priority, so that they can travel at up to 100 km / h. This ensures rapid, comfortable travel even in rush-hour traffic. Daimler is particularly committed to BRT solutions, since only reliable, safe public transport can entice customers to make the change from individual transport. This is important especially in large cities in order to relieve the strain on the transportation system and thus ensure mobility in the long term for all social strata. Moreover, CO2 emissions are further reduced with state-of-the-art engine technology and freely flowing bus operations without traffic jams. A further advantage for metropolitan transport operators: BRT is cheaper in purchase and maintenance than rail systems. BRT is thus a sustainable concept for the future which Daimler has already successfully implemented together with cities such as Istanbul, Nantes, Mexico City, and Bogotá.
In Istanbul alone,bus rapid transit is used by about 600,000 commuters daily.
Part 1: http://www.germancarforum.com/the-road-to-emission-free-driving-by-daimler-part-1-of-5
Part 2: http://www.germancarforum.com/the-road-to-emission-free-driving-by-daimler-part-2-of-5
Part 3: http://www.germancarforum.com/the-road-to-emission-free-driving-by-daimler-part-3-of-5
Part 4: http://www.germancarforum.com/the-road-to-emission-free-driving-by-daimler-part-4-of-5
Part 5: http://www.germancarforum.com/the-road-to-emission-free-driving-by-daimler-part-5-of-5
Source [Daimler]
