Currently reading: Mercedes committed to hydrogen fuel cell technology
The firm thinks that hydrogen has a future as a power source, likely starting with commercial vehicles

Mercedes-Benz is continuing to invest in and develop hydrogen fuel cell technology but believes its first realistic chances of mass production lie in commercial vehicles, such as buses.

Mercedes has been developing fuel cells for more than two decades but has thrown its resources behind making battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) on a mass scale. By 2025, it expects 15-25% of its sales to be BEVs, according to development boss – and future Daimler chairman – Ola Kallenius.

But speaking at the Paris motor show, Kallenius said Mercedes was still invested in bringing fuel cells to reality beyond the limited-volume GLC F-Cell it has put into series production.

First ride: 2018 Mercedes GLC F-Cell

“We are one of the veterans from the fuel cell business over 25 years and have seen it evolve, develop and find its place," said Kallenius. "Now we’re demonstrating with GLC F-Cell that it really works.

“On the way to 2025, what to scale first? BEV, FCV [fuel cell vehicle], or both? We’re talking hundreds of thousands, a big industrial play. We believe the scale is BEV first with the EQ family. It doesn’t make sense to scale them both at the same time.

“We still believe fuel cell is part of the solution to zero-emissions mobility in the future. I’ve told our fuel cell engineers to make the unit more compact and with more performance. We’ve come a long way already, though, and I believe we are the most complete between the performance and range combination.

“We need to make it more compact and take out cost. But our engineers need a vehicle to focus on.

“There is more energy used by a bus in northern Europe in winter on heating it than powering it, so that energy density really helps.

“So the next fuel cells will go to commercial vehicles rather than passenger ones. It’s a flexible strategy, though. We’ll do BEV first and are developing FCV and staying in the game to see if the market swings in that direction.”

Kallenius said Mercedes was also part of the Hydrogen Council, which discusses the industrialisation of the fuel. To that end, it doesn’t want to be involved in providing infrastructure to support hydrogen but does want to work with companies to help deliver it.

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Mark Tisshaw

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Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.

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jsnjasonvoorhees2019 13 July 2021

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Xarlina 19 April 2019

I like it

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xxxx 3 October 2018

Mercedes

They're not commiting to it they're putting it on the slow burner, very slow burner