An “invisible” Mercedes-Benz B-Class (the F-Cell) is being used in an ad campaign to show off the zero-emissions features of their new fuel-cell powered vehicle. The Mercedes-Benz B-class F-Cell will be available in 2014 with a 386km (240 miles) range.
Sheets of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) laid onA one side of the Mercedes-Benz F-Cell car are then fed by a camera image from the other side, so that the live feed makes the car appear invisible to people looking at it from the LED side. It looks pretty amazing in the Youtube video.
The advertising campaign is designed to raise awareness of this zero emissions technology being available to the public but also to help increase the number of hydrogen refuelling stations that countries are willing to build. These hydrogen stations are critical to the success of hydrogen-fueled cars of course.
The B-class F-Cell stores hydrogen in its polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. A fuel cell then converts high-pressure hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2, from the air) into electrical energy and water (H2O). The electrical energy is used to drive a 134hp electric motor and power the car, and the only ‘pollutant’ out of the exhaust is pure water. The entire process can be almost emissions free if the hydrogen is obtained from renewable clean energy.
At startup, the F-Cell uses power from a 1.4-kWh lithium-ion battery array and then the fuel cell motor comes on at 7mph (11.2km/h). It is not the fastest B-class Mercedes Benz, taking around 17seconds to get to 60mph (96km/hr) but it is the cleanest.
Only 70 F-Cells will come to the US, mostly in California and a few in Washington, D.C., and the lease cost is around $800-1000 (€602-753), at least until there are more hydrogen refueling stations available and more F-Cells are manufactured, dropping their price for the public to buy.
Read More