Mercedes-Benz Bluezero E-Cell Plus
The near-series Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS electric car combines environment-friendly electric mobility in the city with unrestricted suitability for long-distance driving. This is made possible by the combination of the battery-electric drive with a clean and efficient combustion engine. This “range extender” gives the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS a total range of up to 370 miles, with 60 miles thereof solely under electric power and thus free of local emissions.
The BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS is part of a family of modularly constructed electric cars that will enable Mercedes-Benz to meet all customer requirements for sustainable mobility in the future. In this variant of the concept vehicle, the electric motor of the purely battery-powered BlueZERO E-CELL is combined with an additional three-cylinder, turbocharged gasoline engine. Generating 67hp, the compact combustion engine is installed in the area of the rear axle and can charge the battery while the car is being driven. The CO2bonus for the battery-electric driving mode reduces the vehicle’s emissions to only 32 grams of CO2 per kilometer. The range extender enables the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS to be driven for up to 370 miles, up to 60 miles in electric mode with zero local emissions. The long combined range makes the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS fully suitable for everyday use and assures that the customer will reach his or her destination even with a depleted battery. After all, the car can be refueled quickly and easily at any conventional filling station.
Battery with superior lithium-ion technology
With a charging capacity of 20 kW, the high-performance, 18 kWh lithium-ion battery of the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS can store enough power within around 30 minutes for a 30 mile cruising range. The complete electric range of 60 miles requires a charging time of somewhat more than an hour. Charging time is doubled when the charging capacity is at the usual household level of 3,3 kW. Special on-board electronics support the intelligent charging stations and billing systems used by electric fuelling stations. Advantages of lithium-ion batteries compared to other battery technologies include their compact dimensions, high output and energy density, high charge efficiency and long service life.
Concept BlueZERO — the triad of electric mobility
Mercedes-Benz is showing the way to environmentally compatible electric mobility with the near-series Concept BlueZERO. The vehicle’s intelligent modular concept enables a single vehicle architecture to be used to create three models with different drive system configurations:
- The BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS is equipped with an electric drive and a supplemental combustion engine as a power generator (range extender). The car has a total range of up to 370 miles, of which up to 60 miles can be covered solely on electricity.
- Originally presented in Detroit at the beginning of the year, the BlueZERO
E-CELL is powered exclusively by a battery-electric drive that allows the car to travel up to 125 miles on a single battery charge and completely free of local emissions. - The third drive version is the fuel cell powered BlueZERO F-CELL, with a range of roughly 250 miles on electric power and therefore also without any local emissions.
All three BlueZERO models feature front-wheel drive, which is typical for this class of car. The Mercedes engineers have put together a modular system comprising several flexibly combinable drive components. These include state-of-the-art, liquid-cooled lithium-ion batteries with a storage capacity of up to 35 kWh and the compact electric motor with a maximum output of 134 hp (sustained output: 94 hp). The maximum torque of 236 lb-ft is immediately available once the electric motor is turned on, and it surpasses the value attained by today’s V6 gasoline engines at 2500 rpm. As with its two sister models, the BlueZERO E-CELL and the BlueZERO F-CELL, the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than 11 seconds. To ensure an optimum range and energy efficiency, the top speed is electronically limited to 100 mph.
"The Concept BlueZERO offers a triple demonstration of the technical maturity of alternative drive systems from Mercedes-Benz. Electric vehicles with battery electric or fuel cell drive systems will not truly be on an equal footing with today's combustion engine drive systems until the customers are confident that there is a sufficient infrastructure of electric and hydrogen refueling stations,” says Prof. Herbert Kohler, Head of E-Drive and Future Mobility and also Chief Environmental Officer at Daimler.
Concept BlueZERO: Modular architecture for flexibility and efficiency
All of the three BlueZERO variants employ the unique sandwich floor that Mercedes-Benz introduced ten years ago, also with an eye to integrating alternative drive systems into the first-generation A-Class, and which was refined for the B‑Class. Advantages of the modified design include the space-saving location as well as the fact that the major drive components are positioned at the center of gravity and are extremely well protected within the vehicle underbody. The BlueZERO models therefore differ considerably from conventionally designed electric cars, which have heavy and voluminous storage batteries installed in the trunk, for example, or in the area of the backseat. All three BlueZERO variants share key technological components and have identical designs and vehicle dimensions. Even though they have compact exterior dimensions of only 166 inches, the BlueZERO models have a spacious and versatile interior and cargo space. The vehicles’ five full-size seats, approximately 990 pounds of payload, and more than 17 cu. ft. of cargo capacity make them suitable family cars.
“Our modular system permits different drive configurations for each customer requirement,” says Dr. Thomas Weber, the Daimler Board of Management Member responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “The improved sandwich floor platform serves as the perfect basis for a diverse range of vehicles with electric drives. We are currently developing an additional platform for future compact models that have drive systems using optimized internal combustion engines. The intelligent linking of both architectures will allow us to expand our product range in an extremely flexible and efficient manner. Beginning in 2009 we will manufacture the first small batch of Mercedes fuel cell cars. In 2010 they will be followed by a small batch of Mercedes-Benz vehicles that run solely on electric power supplied by a battery. Thanks to these measures, we are excellently positioned for the future.”
Electric powered vehicles are fun to drive
Mercedes-Benz vehicles will continue to combine environmental awareness and driving fun in future. The Mercedes-Benz designers have emphasized this aspiration by introducing paint finishes in three new ALU-BEAM colors. Each of the three variants makes its individual mark: Confidence-oozing ALU-BEAM Copper was chosen for the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS; the BlueZERO E-CELL is painted a fresh ALU-BEAM yellow; and the BlueZERO F-CELL appears in ALU-BEAM green.
Mercedes-Benz believes that it won’t be just one technology that paves the way to sustainable mobility in the future, however. Instead the company is responding with solutions that are every bit as varied as the demands. The individual technologies are being used in specific applications where they can provide the greatest advantage with respect to optimal consumption and emission values. Mercedes-Benz views the development of electric cars with battery and fuel cell drives for local zero-emission driving as a means of supplementing the extremely clean and economical BlueEFFICIENCY and hybrid vehicles already available today. However, the unrestricted and convenient operation of electric cars still faces a series of challenges, including high system costs, insufficient infrastructure and short cruising ranges. Advanced diesel and gasoline engines will remain the driving force for automobiles for a long time to come — not only for individual mobility in passenger cars (especially over long distances), but, more importantly, for freight transport in trucks. Despite all the progress that Mercedes-Benz has once again so distinctly documented with the Concept BlueZERO, electric cars will not be replacing vehicles with combustion engines any time soon. The electrification of modern, high-tech engines will, however, play an increasingly important role in the drive system mix of the future.
Concept BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS
- Electric powered concept car with a battery-electric range of up to 60 miles
- A combustion engine that serves as an electrical generator (range extender) extends the range to up to 370 miles (total)
- The concept vehicle can be recharged simply and conveniently at a common household outlet
- With a charging capacity of 20 kW, the Concept BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS can be recharged within around half an hour for a 30 mile cruising range
- The liquid-cooled lithium-ion batteries used as an energy source have an energy content of up to 17.50 kWh
- Front-wheel drive
Electric drive
CO2 emissions: 0 g/km
Range: up to 370 mi
Battery: Lithium-ion
Rated output: 134 hp
Max. torque: 236 lb-ft
Top speed: 100 mph
Acceleration 0–60 mph: < 11.0 seconds
Range extender
Cylinders: 3
Displacement: 1.0l turbo
Output: 67 hp at 3500 rp
