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— Friday, October 3, 1997 — North Shere News

north shore news

UNVEILED at last month's Frankfurt Auto Show, the Mercedes-Benz NECAR 3 uses Ballard fuel celis and is
the firat passenger car to use methanol as a fuel. With the aid of a reformer systern located in the rear of the
car, methanol fuel is converted online into hydrogen through water vapor refcrmation.

Ballard-B

Prototype van
uses liquid
methanol fuel

DAIMLER-BENZ has
developed the first fuel
cell passenger car using
methanol as the fuel.

Based on the Mercedes-
Benz A-Class cars, the revo-
jutionary ‘new vehicle repre-
sents a decisive breakthrough

in the quest to develop an—

automobile drive system with
extremely low emissions, says
ne German car company.

This latest fuel celi vehicle
to emerge from Daimler-
Benz laboratories is known as
NECAR 3 (New Electric
Car) and, unlike its predeces-
SOrs, fills up with liquid
methanol.

With the aid of an on-
board reformer system,
methanol fuel is converted
on-line into hydrogen
through water-vapor refor-
mation. The hydrogen gas is
then fed into the Ballard fuel
cells where it is combined
with atmospheric oxygen but
without combustion to pro-
_ducg clectrical energy, which

w
‘1s used to power the vehicle.
Previous fuel cell: systems'-«

could only operate in con-
junction with bulky hydrogen
tanks for fuel storage.

With NECAR 3, the
entire process is much more
press the accelerator
~ pedal and an astonishing 90%
of rhe system’s power is avail-
able in just two seconds. In
terms of drive dynamics, this

puts fuel cell vehicles using

“Tiethanol on par with con-
ventional gasoline or diesel-
powered automobiles.
Dispensing with the
hydrogen tanks not only
reduces vehicle weight, but it
also greatly improves the
everyday practicality of the
rmeW vehicle: the corner gas
station can handle methanol,
which doesn’t require special

safety measures, nearly as eas-
ily as gasoline or diesel.

What’s more, NECAR 3
has a range of some 400 kilo-
metres (250 miles) on a full
tank of 40 litres (11 gallons),
similar to conventional vehi-
cles. Daimler-Benz decided
to opt for methanol because
it is the most suitable fuel for
hydrogen generation.
Although gasoline and diesel
were also- considered, the
efficiency levels of these fuels
would have been lower.

For the introductory
phase of fucl-cel! powered
vehicles, at least, engiiwers
are considering the possibility
of a multi-fuel concept
which, as the name suggests,
will permit the utilization of
different types of fuel until
methanol is generally avail-
able.

The drive system of
NECAR 3 is virtually emis-

sion-free. Neither nitrogen
oxides nor soot particles are
created during conversion of
methanol to hydrogen or in
the subsequent generation of
electrical energy.

And thanks to the extreme
efficiency of the fuel cells,
carbon dioxide (CO2) emis-
sions are substantially below
those of conventional vehi-
cles.

With the advent of
onboard hydrogen genera-
tion, a crucial step has been
taken towards developing the
environmentally-friendly fuel
cell technology that could
eventually power vehicles of
the future.

An equally important
milestone on the road to the
lofty goal is the incorporation
of the entire system in a
three-metre (12-foot) long
Mercedes-Benz. Once again,
the innovative double-floor

enz make baby

sandwich concept employed
in the A-Class has proved its
worth, allowing the complete

installation of the fuel cells

Your honest & rehable source for

brakes, tune-ups, overhauls, electrical

work and general car maintenance.
Government

Licensed
Mechanics

Weiceome Home.
Oct 7th,8th & 9th.

You've come to expect great performance from
your Volkswagen. But that doesn’t mean you
should take it for granted.

I That's why Volkswagen would like to invite you
to our upcoming “Welcome Home” clinic on

me October 7, 8 & 9, 1997.

A This is a great opportunity to have your
Volkswagen thoroughly inspected by our
factory-rained technicians, and to discuss any
questions you may have.

fe And there’s absolutely no cost or obligation.
A There are however delicious refreshments.

MPS. Don't forget to
pick up your free

and several auxiliary units -

underneath the passenger
cell. The methanol fuel tank,
reformer and contro] system
are located in the rear of the
Mercedes subcompact.

The methanol reformer
technology utilized in
NECAR 3 has benefited irom
a whole range of technologi-
cal advances at Daimler-Benz
Not only has the system been
made smaller and more effi-
cient, but the performance of
the reformation process has

* also been improved.

The result is a compact
unit of some 47 centimetres
(18 inches) in height.

Ballard’s head office was
in North Vancouver until last
year, when the growing firm
moved to Burnaby.

Wolf Schmaler Rab Shar
Please call Rob or Wolf to schedule your
appointment. We look forward fo seeing you
and your Volkswagen.

Gelebrating 51 years on the North Shore

Isuzu Offe ers of the Year

ne e best possible deal on a new Isuzu is on now!”

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