Mercedes removes the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL from its catalogue

Electric mobility is one of the alternatives to fossil fuels that has gained the most momentum in recent years. Among these electric options are also mobility solutions based on the use of hydrogen. However, this technology, which is a safe bet for some brands, has become something that does not work for others. Mercedes has decided to set this technology aside, at least as far as cars are concerned.

The Mercedes model powered by a hydrogen fuel cell was the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL. This model was meant to be the German brand’s proposal for advancing this mobility model. In the end, however, it has not been as practical and effective as expected, and Mercedes has decided to put an end to the project.

A car that was never sold

The Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL was unveiled at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show and began to be marketed at the end of 2018. But unlike the brand’s other models, it was never sold to the public. It was aimed at the rental and leasing market. Its main users were institutions and large companies, which could access the rental for 800 euros per month.

Some government bodies and public companies took up this model. But it was not a car meant to make money; rather, it was a test bed for using hydrogen fuel cell technology. It went a step further and turned the car into a practical laboratory for testing the efficiency of hydrogen as a fuel.

The Mercedes GLC F-CELL has two 4.4 kg hydrogen tanks at 700 bar that feed the fuel cell stack under the bonnet. In parallel, it has a 9.3 kWh battery that powers the electric motor. In this way, the car can run using either the fuel cell or the electricity stored in the battery, and can even operate in hybrid mode.

The range offered by the hydrogen fuel cell was 478 km, and the battery added another 51 kilometres, according to the NEDC cycle. A good figure that allowed users of the car to get good performance.

Despite all this, the model has become too expensive a piece and is not profitable for the company, so its production is being discontinued. The high production costs and the limited impact of fuel cell technology have led Mercedes to reconsider its manufacture.

Fuel cell technology in trucks

But Mercedes does not rule out this technology entirely. In fact, it has begun preparing the development of trucks and buses together with Volvo, where it will surely apply everything it has learned from this model. Apparently, the idea is to advance hydrogen fuel cell mobility in this type of vehicle. We will soon see these fuel cell trucks on the roads, but a Mercedes with this technology will be hard to spot.