 The Stuttgart carmaker was selected for the award
by Europe's largest automobile club in recognition of its lithium-ion battery,
the first such battery ever to be successfully integrated into a production
passenger car. The Mercedes-Benz S 400 BlueHYBRID featuring this pioneering
technology will have its market launch in summer 2009. The Stuttgart-based
company is the world's first carmaker to successfully adapt lithium-ion
technology - currently used predominantly in consumer electronics - to the
heavy demands of production passenger cars. Daimler AG holds a total of 25
patents that collectively facili-tated the breakthrough in this important
technology. A crucial element in the company's success was its groundbreaking
integration of a lithium-ion battery into the vehicle's air-conditioning
circuit. As a result of this, the battery unit is able to operate at optimum
system temperatures between 15-35°C at all times, thus achieving a long
service life for use in passenger cars (10 calendar years; 600,000 charging
cycles) coupled with maximum efficiency. Dr. Thomas Weber, the member of
the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and
Development Mercedes-Benz Cars, accepted the "Yellow Angel" award together
with Heinz-Gerhard Wente, member of the Board of Management of Continental
AG responsible for Human Resources and the ContiTech Division. Daimler's
lithium-ion technology was chosen as the year's top innovation out of 51
applications from 42 companies by a jury comprised of experts from the ADAC,
the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), the Association
of Motor Vehicle Importers (VDIK) and the German Association for Motor Trade
and Repair (ZDK). The number of entries was the highest since the ADAC "Yellow
Angel" awards were introduced.
World's lowest CO2 emissions for class
of vehicle
The innovative battery will be launched in the new Mercedes-Benz S 400 BlueHYBRID
as early as summer 2009. The combination of the V6 petrol engine with the
compact hybrid module will make the S 400 BlueHYBRID the world's most economic
petrol-engined luxury saloon. NEDC (combined) fuel consumption amounts to
just 7.9 litres per 100 kilometres, giving world-best figures for
CO2 emissions of just 186 grams per kilometre for this category
of vehicle and output. In conjunction with an intelligent energy management
system, the new model offers a comprehensive range of hybrid characteristics,
including a user-friendly stop/start function for the petrol engine, boost
effect and regenerative braking.
Compact dimensions and much greater
efficiency
The advantage of the lithium-ion battery over conventional nickel-metal hydride
batteries lies principally in its compact dimensions combined with much greater
efficiency. Compared with NiMH tech-nology, lithium-ion batteries better
energy density by 30 percent and power-to-weight ratio by 50 percent. Moreover,
they boast a high recharge efficiency and long service life. Lithium-ion
batteries also have the lowest environmental impact of all battery technologies
and guar-antee a sustainable and cost-effective feedstock. Their high safety
lev-els are on a par with those of current car batteries. As Mercedes-Benz's
system partner, the international automotive sup-plier Continental was
responsible for software development and over-all system application. A complex
battery management system ensures the battery remains within an optimum operating
range at all times. The electronics also monitor general functions such as
temperature and energy output as compared with battery age. Safety circuits
pre-vent the battery from overheating, for example, and a 'cell supervising
circuit' monitors individual cells so as to guarantee optimum interaction.
Production of the battery will be overseen by Continental at a new production
facility in Nuremberg.
Already a recipient of several awards
In its Innovation & Environment category, the ADAC recognises out-standing
initiatives, projects or innovations in the fields of road and vehicle safety
and environmental protection in road transport and automotive development.
Application is open to institutions, organisations, institutes and companies.
A basic requirement is that all innova-tions have already been successfully
put into practice. In 2006 Mercedes-Benz received the prestigious award in
the Innovation & Environment category for the world's cleanest diesel
technology BlueTEC, achieving the same feat again in 2007 for its Active
Brake Assist for trucks. "Yellow Angels 2009" were awarded in five categories:
Car, Brand, Quality, Innovation & Environment and Personality. They are
considered one of the most prestigious European car awards and looked upon
by consumers as valuable yardsticks, since they take into account cri-teria
such as price-performance ratio, practicality, economic efficiency, safety
and environmental compatibility. Mercedes-Benz finished runner-up in the
Brand category for 2009, as it did with the CLK in the Quality category.
In the Car category for 2009 the SLK achieved third place, following a first
place with the C-Class in 2008. |
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