Current mass-produced hybrid cars use nickel-metal hydride batteries, but Mercedes-Benz says it will launch the first hybrid with lithium ion batteries in 2009.
The Mercedes-Benz hybrid drivetrain
Lithium ion batteries are more efficient than nickel-metal hydride batteries and have a better weight-to-power ratio. Currently they're employed in the all-electric Tesla roadster, as well as in many plug-in hybrid conversions. Large stacks of lithium ion batteries, however, can overheat, a serious problem in automotive applications. Mercedes-Benz has announced that it has 25 patents around making lithium ion suitable for cars, detailing a key breakthrough of integrating the battery with a car's climate control system, which maintains the battery temperature at between 15 degrees and 35 degrees Celcius. In this temperature range, lithium ion batteries offer optimal performance while preserving battery life.
Mercedes-Benz will first use lithium ion batteries in its S400 BlueHybrid that will launch in key overseas markets in 2009. No word yet on when, or if, the S400 is coming Australia. The S400, which was unveiled at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, will use a 3.5-litre V6 engine complemented by a hybrid system. When the petrol and electric engines are used in tandem, maximum power is 220kW and maximum torque is 375Nm. For the S400 BlueHybrid Mercedes-Benz claims fuel economy of 7.8L/100km, CO2 emissions of 190g per kilometre, and a 0 to 100km/h time of 7.3 seconds.
For comparison purposes the S350, which uses the same 3.5-litre V6 engine but without the hybrid drivetrain, has 200kW of power (down 20kW) and 350Nm of torque (25Nm less), yet drinks 10.2L/100km and emits 242g of CO2 per kilometre.
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Gaith
06/03/2008 12:56 AM
It is pathetic that most car companies are going with either big cars, that they then slab a hybrid on and make it consume as a mid-size car but no one other than Honda and Toyota seem to bother with a mid-car with a hybrid so that consumption of fuel is actually pretty minimal. S400 has a 3.5L engine, whoever buys this car, has no care whatsoever for the environment and the government of any country needs to start taxing such cars accordingly. In five years time the tax on cars that consume anything more than 3L/100k should be so high that it drives (pun intended) car companies that produce beasts, dressed in a pretend green outfit, out of the market all together. This is not something that the rich and famous should afford to buy and everyone else can only afford after 10-15 years when it becomes standard on all cars. Governments need to legislate to make green cars (consumes less than 3L/100k) something that car companies need to make or parish trying. The world environment can not survive pure capitalist economics in this situation, some world vision and common sense need to be injected here in this debate and maybe, just maybe we won’t end up destroying our own and only planet.
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