MaGaZiNe for iNNoVatioN teChNoloGY MobilitY
ISSUe 02 2010
TECHNICITY MAGAZINE FOR INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY MOBILITY
TECHNICITY
FUEL CELL FUTURE Never before has fuel cell technology been so close to integrated use in series-produced vehicles.
TECHNICITY MAGAZINE iSSN 2190-0523
FOR
A publication of Daimler AG © Stuttgart 2010
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MobilitY CoNCePtS
iNNoVatioN ProCeSSeS
Why new mobility concepts are helping to improve the traffic situation in major cities.
How comfort can be measured — and how customers help shape innovation processes in companies.
iNtelliGeNt liGht
iDea MaNaGeMeNt
How intelligent lighting technologies are enhancing safety and a sense of well-being.
Why modern idea and patent management is indispensable for companies today.
INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY MOBILITY
ISSUE 02 2010
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A Daimler Brand
• Kunde: Mercedes-Benz
The future comes standard.
• Jung v. Matt
• 216 x 279 mm
The C-Class BlueEFFICIENCY is the most efficient C-Class we have ever built. Thanks to its innovative engine technology it is both more economical and more powerful. BlueEFFICIENCY is our way to emission-free mobility. Now available in over 85 Mercedes-Benz models. Fast forward to tomorrow. www.mercedes-benz.com/blueefficiency
Water Will be the Coal of the future “the energy of tomorrow will be water that has been split by an electric current. the elements, hydrogen and oxygen, thus recovered from the water will provide the earth’s energy supply for an unforeseeable time to come.” Jules Verne (from: The Mysterious Island, 1874)
Our BlueEFFICIENCY models: C 200 CDI, C 220 CDI, C 250 CDI, C 250 CDI 4MATIC, C 350 CDI, C 350 CDI 4MATIC, C 180 CGI, C 200 CGI, C 250 CGI, C 350 CGI. Fuel consumption combined: 4.4–8.9 l/100 km; combined CO₂ emissions: 117–208 g/km. Figures do not relate to the specific emissions or fuel consumption of any individual vehicle, do not form part of any offer and are intended solely to aid comparison between different types of vehicle.
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TECHNOLOGY When you look closely, the mobility of tomorrow looks strikingly simple. Shown in the photograph is a fuel cell stack in close-up.
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in the CitY A Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid bus equipped with an electric motor and fuel cell technology in use in Hamburg.
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OPPORTUNITIES TECHNOLOGY In order to build the world’s safest vehicles, it’s essential to use computer simulations and real-life crash tests. High-speed video technology and sensors gather key
125! YEARS OF iNNOVATiON — that’s what we stand for at Daimler. During all this time we have been an innovation driver introducing numerous pioneering developments and trends that have had an impact on the entire automobile industry. Today as in the past, our vision extends far beyond the development of vehicles. Our concept of the mobility of the future is multidimensional. At Daimler, we regard this multidimensionality as an opportunity and act accordingly.
data in fractions of a second. Page 10
The high-tech revolution we’ve achieved with the cold-start capability of FUEL CELL SYSTEMS, for example, confirms that we’re on the right track. Today the integration of this technology into a series-produced zero-emission electric vehicle is within reach. And success here will significantly alter the electric mobility of the future.
TALENT The principle of lightweight
High-powered iDEA AND PATENT MANAGEMENT is essential to this process. That’s because it not only forms the visionary horizon of a company and its research and development activities but also generates forward momentum. The tradition that was begun almost 125 years ago when Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz registered their patents is one we are still committed to today — and it brings us new challenges every day.
construction is being more and more consistently implemented in modern technical products. One goal is to enhance resource efficiency in the production and use of such products. Page 62
TOLERANCE We’re changing every day — and so are our definitions and perceptions of comfort. What kinds of things will we perceive as being comfortable in the future? A look at how comfort becomes measurable — and how customers help shape
This sort of momentum will also rapidly transform the CiTiES OF TOMORROW. In today’s cities, mobility is already based on a sophisticated network of hyperlocal information and mobility synapses. Customized, fully flexible, inexpensive, and environmentally efficient transport systems are becoming the norm. With our CAR2GO mobility concept and our Web 2.0 ride-sharing service CAR2GETHER we have already anticipated futureoriented trends in Germany and the U.S. And such concepts have been enthusiastically welcomed all over the world.
innovation processes in companies. Page 82
In this issue of TECHNICITY you’ll find out more about this and many other intriguing topics. Pleasant reading! Sincerely, Thomas Weber Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development
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TRANSFER
Intelligent Light
Sensor-controlled City
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Do na u
Mobility Concepts
B28 B30
10 Safety Strategy
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FUEL CELL FUTURE Fuel cell technology is moving closer to the point when it can be used in series-produced vehicles. • TECHNOLOGY From the vision to the drive concept — the fuel cell between everyday use and fascinating future technology. • SYSTEM A drive system consisting of an electric motor, a battery, and a fuel cell. An overview of the interplay between the high-tech elements in Mercedes-Benz F-CELL vehicles. • INFRASTRUCTURE From the production plant to the tank. How will hydrogen be used today and tomorrow as an energy source? • EXPERT OPINION Jeremy RIFKIN, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends, explains why hydrogen technology could be the basis of a third Industrial Revolution.
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INDEX
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39
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New technologies are the indispensable driver of innovations and progress in the 21st century — they’re exciting, electrifying, and fascinating.
“Winning the battle to attract and keep talented employees is the key to business success,” says the U.S. economist Richard FLORIDA. In the innovation regions, creative people are defining the future.
Tolerance, openness, and cultural diversity are crucial to economic growth in large cities — and the expression of a new urban lifestyle.
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40
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TECHNOLOGY
TALENT
TOLERANCE
Safety Strategy In order to build the world’s safest vehicles, it’s absolutely essential to use computer simulations and real-life crash tests. Stateof-the-art video technology and sensors register the key data during the crucial fractions of a second that define each crash.
Fascinating fuel cell technology The development of fuel cell technology is forging ahead in leaps and bounds, and its integrated use in series-produced vehicles is just around the corner.
Mobility Concepts The city of the future will have a sophisticated network of hyperlocal information and mobility synapses. Customized, fully flexible, economically attractive, and environmentally efficient transport systems will become the norm.
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SPECTRUM
Fuel of the Future Growing energy demands and increasingly scarce resources. The contribution that biofuels can make to the energy mix is the subject of impassioned debate.
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ANALOGY
FUEL CELL FUTURE
METROPOLIS
POSITION Idea Management State-of-the-art idea and patent management represents the visionary horizon of a company and maintains its dynamic innovative capability.
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Material Strategy The principle of lightweight construction is being more and more consistently implemented in modern technical products. One goal is to enhance resource efficiency in production and use.
Innovation Processes We’re changing every day — and so are our definitions and perceptions of comfort. What kinds of things will we perceive as being comfortable in the future? How comfort can be measured — and how customers help shape innovation processes in companies.
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Intelligent Light LEDs and digital lighting controls increase safety and enhance well-being. From auto headlights to streetlights, LED technology is making our lighting systems intelligent and interactive.
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DIGITAL
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TRANSFER Sensor-controlled city In the SENSEable City Lab at MIT researchers are examining how digital technologies are changing and influencing cities — and thus the way millions of people live and work in surroundings that are impacted by technology.
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IMPRINT AND CONTACT
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PROJECTOR
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More safety on the roads: our innovations help to prevent accidents. More and more people are taking to the idea of driving with anticipatory assistance systems on board: the Active Brake Assist system in our Mercedes Benz Actros warns the driver when the truck gets too close to the vehicle in front and there is a risk of collision. This electronic assistance system can even brake the vehicle to a standstill if necessary. With this innovation, Daimler offers solutions for reducing the number of road traffic accidents. Another step closer to our vision of accident-free driving.
www.daimler.com www.daimler.mobi
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simulation
region
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mercedes-Benz vehicles are subjected to crash tests about 500 times a year in the town of Sindelfingen in southern Germany. The data collected from each accident simulation forms the basis of the researchers’ efforts to maximize passive vehicle safety. (page 10) a global focus on technology and innovation: TechniciTy presents the most exciting hightech news from every innovative region of europe, asia, and north america, as well as commentaries and perspectives contributed by science journalists from all over the world. (page 22) Boosting energy efficiency or seeking out additional deposits of fossil energy sources are no longer sufficient if we are to meet the growing global demand for energy. even while the potential contribution of biofuels to the energy mix is being discussed, biofuels of the second generation are already being tested in commercial vehicles. (page 28)
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TexT Andreas KUNKEL
PHOTOGRAPHY Stefan HoHLocH
In a FractIon oF a Second to enSure that the SaFety oF all road uSerS doeSn’t depend on computer SImulatIonS alone, craSh teStS are carrIed out wIth real carS every day In SIndelFIngen, germany.
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PARAMETERS NAMe: Sindelfingen crash hall, Germany FOuNded iN: 1975 eMPlOYees: approx. 150 TesTs: approx. 500 impact tests a year lOcATiON: plant hall 16
Berlin
Stuttgart siNdelFiNGeN
duMMies, dATA, ANd deTAiled WORk A vehicle must be able to safely and reliably cope with 30 different crash situations in order to fulfill international approval requirements and ratings. in addition, Daimler conducts many supplementary crash tests, whose requirements in some cases go far beyond the legal specifications. For example, the current mercedes-Benz E-class alone passed more than 150 real crash tests and 5,000 realistic crash test simulations involving the entire vehicle during its years of development. Around 500 impact tests are carried out every year at the Development center in Sindelfingen. To guarantee reliable results, the researchers use about 150 sensors in and on the dummies and a further 50 to 100 measuring devices in the vehicle. it takes about one week to evaluate all of the data from such a test.
THe cAlM BeFORe THe cRAsH Behind the closed door the test vehicle is ready to go into action. The cable pulley system in the hall floor accelerates the car precisely to the desired speed.
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FiNAl PRePARATiONs A crash dummy is fitted into the vehicle, a mercedes-Benz E-class, which is given the appropriate measurement markings.
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AN OPPONeNT OF sTeel At 56 km/h the test vehicle crashes into an immovable steel wall head-on. The panel in the floor also makes it possible to collect visual data from below.
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MACROSCOPE
2009 exPeRiMeNTAl sAFeTY VeHicle The ESF 2009 is the first Experimental Safety Vehicle from mercedes-Benz since 1974. Like its historic predecessors, it includes pioneering and in some cases unconventional safety innovations. The car, which was developed on the basis of the mercedes-Benz S 400 Hybrid, not only demonstrates the topics currently being researched by Daimler safety experts but also shows possible new approaches that could further increase vehicle safety. The vehicles’ key features include: • PrE-SAFE Structure: in the event of an actual collision, inflatable metal structures make the door reinforcements more stable. • Braking Bag: if the vehicle detects an impending impact, the Braking Bag unfolds 100 milliseconds before the collision occurs and brakes the vehicle by means of a friction coating that comes into contact with the road surface. • interactive Vehicle communication: Using ad hoc networks and WLAN radio technology, the ESF 2009 can communicate with other vehicles. For example, it can send and receive warnings of bad weather conditions or traffic obstructions. • PrE-SAFE Pulse: During a side impact, the force exerted against an occupant’s upper body is reduced by up to one-third. This is achieved using inflatable backrest upholstery that moves the occupant as much as 50 millimeters toward the middle of the vehicle. • Spotlight lighting function: The high-beam, which is partially created using LEDs, illuminates potential hazards. if, for example, the infrared camera of the Night View Assist Plus detects animals in the distance or people on the road, they can be briefly illuminated beyond the high-beam range.
cRuMPle ZONe The test vehicle rebounds off the obstacle and comes to a standstill. The front airbags have inflated and the doors can still be opened with little effort.
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the roaD to acciDent-free Driving the Daimler safety strategy • Taking the load off the driver • Actively mastering difficult situations with the vehicle • Protecting road users to the greatest possible extent
Daimler’S integral Safety PhiloSoPhy Prevention
reSPonSe
Protection
reScue
Safe driving, timely warnings and assistance
in case of danger, response with PRE-SAFE
in case of accidents, appropriate protection
after an accident, mitigation of consequences and swift assistance
active safety
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AccideNT ResulTs The test vehicle’s radiator grille left a clearly visible paint mark on the obstacle. A shutter release at floor level enabled cameras to capture the collision.
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TOuGH eNOuGH Stuffed full of the latest sensor technology, crash test dummies provide detailed data on the physical impacts felt by occupants during a collision.
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enSurIng SaFety IS a holIStIc taSk that goeS Far beyond merely meetIng craSh teSt StandardS cRAsH TesT duMMies The age of modern, groundbreaking safety testing at Daimler was ushered in with the first crash test on September 10, 1959. Since then, increasingly sophisticated crash tests have generated more and more meaningful results, as the company pursues its aim of offering road users increasingly better protection. Painstakingly prepared crash tests and advanced crash dummies are among the standard tools used nowadays to develop passive safety systems. After all, almost four million people are on the road every minute all over the world. The number of passenger vehicles in the world will double over the next 20 years, and around two billion passenger vehicles will be registered 40 years from now. Given the ongoing increase in traffic volumes, it’s perhaps not surprising that more than 10,000 crash tests have been performed in the crash hall in Sindelfingen since it commenced operations in 1975. The facility, which was thoroughly modernized in 1998, tests individual configurations and different engine and transmission variants at various stages of a vehicle’s development. The engineers investigate a diverse range of accident situations, including frontal collisions against a rigid wall at 56 kilometers per hour and offset crashes at 64 kilometers per hour. in the latter, a part of a vehicle’s front collides against an obstacle. Tests are also conducted to find out how a vehicle behaves when it collides against a pole or is hit in the side or the rear. other tests determine the quality of child and pedestrian safety. The test program includes 30 impact configurations that are currently required for the worldwide registration of a new car. in addition, mercedes-Benz conducts many other highly demanding crash tests to ensure safety in its passenger vehicles. These include the rollover and roof-drop tests plus special frontal, side, and rear crash tests. The aim of all of these tests is to align the vehicle’s safety concept with real-life traffic and accident conditions, and thus provide road users with optimum protection. To achieve this goal, the crash hall is equipped with an acceleration track that can extend up to 92 meters in length. The vehicles are accelerated along the first half of the track by a cable pulley system. Here, the fine tuning that is required to achieve exactly the desired speed is carried out along the second half of the track. once this speed has been reached, the system detaches itself from the vehicle, which then, together with its artificial occupants, crashes into a deformable barrier, for example, or flips over on a ramp. The actual crash lasts for only about 100 to 150 milliseconds. During this fraction of a second, up to 200 sensors register every reaction involving the vehicle and the dummies. Each of these sensors has its own iD system so that the data generated during a test can subsequently be precisely assigned. The crash is also recorded by state-of-the-art video technology at a rate of 1,000 images per second so that the test can be visually evaluated at normal speed and in extreme slow motion. in addition, precise measurements are taken of the materials that penetrate the vehicle (intrusions) and of any corresponding deformations. The engineers also determine exactly how much force is needed to open the car doors.
crash tests are the visually spectacular part of Daimler’s safety philosophy. However, ensuring safety is a holistic task that goes far beyond merely meeting crash test standards. The Daimler engineers therefore show comparable dedication when it comes to developing the experimental safety vehicle ESF 2009, for example, or to conducting accident research. Because Daimler’s safety concept is based on a real-life safety philosophy and actual accidents, the company’s experts each year analyze between 130 and 170 accidents in which Daimler cars or commercial vehicles were involved. Besides researching the way the vehicle has been deformed, the experts examine the accident locations and any injuries the occupants may have received. Using photos, sketches, and accident reports, the experts can also create computer simulations that allow them to make inferences regarding how an accident happened. The tests in the Sindelfingen crash hall are augmented by computer simulations. Although these simulations will probably never replace real-life tests, they expand the range of possibilities for understanding the interplay between diverse components and systems. in addition, they help the researchers use this knowledge to implement new measures. To create these simulations, the engineers make thousands of crash calculations during each stage of a vehicle’s development. Each vehicle is involved in around 5,000 virtual accidents before it has to undergo its final real-life safety testing in the crash hall. All this is necessary if the vehicle is to fulfill the general legal approval requirements and Daimler’s substantially higher safety standards.
HYPERLINK You’ll find further information about this article at:
daimler-technicity.com/crash including the following features: • PHOTO GAlleRY Safety first: An extensive gallery of images of the mercedes-Benz crash hall • iNTeRVieW “We don’t rely only on the computer”: rodolfo ScHöNEBUrG, Head of Passive Safety and Vehicle Functions at Daimler, on topics ranging from crash tests to safety optimization • VideO Demonstration using a drivable vehicle: The Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESF) • BAckGROuNd Facts and figures: Detailed information on the mercedes-Benz crash hall
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SPECTRUM HigH-speed detector for dangerous Bacteria (Daejeon, South Korea) Finding pathogenic germs quickly and ac curately can save countless human lives. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has now developed a sen sor that can spot potentially deadly germs in just a few hours. This used to require tests that took up to three days and often had an error rate of over 50 percent. Patients have been known to die while waiting for the test results. The new sensor uses extremely thin gold threads, with diameters measured in nanometers, to which DNA agents for iden tifying the germs are applied. The success rate is 99 percent for 47 different types of bacteria. homelandsecuritynewswire.com
daeJeon, south korea
tokyo, Japan
seoul, south korea tsukuBa, Japan
singapore
asia HIGHTECH NEWS FROM AN INNOVATIVE REGION “The year 2010 marks the beginning of the threedimensional era in the digital world. Once you’ve seen spatial images, you want to experience this powerful visual feeling again.” Martin FriTz, TECHNICITY correspondent, Tokyo
solar energy for eVeryone In Tsukuba, Japan, you can fill up your electrically powered car with solar energy.
tsukuBa to Be electromoBility reference city (TSuKuba, japan) Experts do not consider the use of batteryelectric vehicles to be environmentally friendly per se. One option for the largescale “fueling” of cars powered with electricity generated via emissionfree technologies is now being tested in the university city of Tsukuba, 60 kilometers northeast of Tokyo. An infrastructure for electrically powered cars that run on clean solar energy is being es tablished there as part of a model project. This infrastructure includes quickcharge stations in public places such as the parking lots of select FamilyMart minimarkets. Solar cells supply the stations directly with electricity. In between chargings, the solar energy is stored in batteries and released in the form of direct current during fueling, which significantly accelerates the charging process. A number of companies are supporting the model trial. hybridmile.com
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PERSPECTIVES martin fritz Asia correspondent and author who has been
clean production of nanocrystals (Singapore) Researchers at the National Uni versity of Singapore have discovered a faster and more efficient way of producing nano crystals. Researchers from Nanyang Techni cal University and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia were also involved in the project. The crystals are used in medicine and in bioimaging. a-star.edu.sg nanocrystal Electrical and thermodynamic prop erties suitable for the production of solar energy.
4-gigaBit memory cHips go into mass production (SeouL, South Korea) Samsung, the world’s largest chipmaker, has begun the mass production of memory chips in the sub50nanometer range. DRAM chips on this scale will double the RAM capacity of a computer to four gigabits from the current level of two gigabits. fujitsu.com
solar cell from sHarp Power generation for satellites and space stations.
flexiBle solar cells for space (ToKYo, japan) Sharp has developed a new solar cell for use in satellites and space stations. It not only converts light to electricity with great efficiency, but can also be bent and folded like paper. The cells comprise three extremely thin crystal layers of indium gallium, gallium arsenide, and indium gallium arsenide, with each layer less than 20 micrometers thick. e.nikkei.com eye moVements control mp3 player (ToKYo, japan) NTT Docomo, Japan’s largest cell phone company, has developed a method by which a cell phone or MP3 player can be operated with the help of eye movements. The headphones double as electrodes that can measure a fluctuation of the electric potential between the eyes when these change their position. The electric signal is recorded and interpreted via software as a command for an electronic device such as a cell phone or music player. telegraph.co.uk
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working in Tokyo for Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR Info) since 2001.
tHe 3d age The digital world is moving into a new dimension. First came the cinematic images from Avatar, which swept us off to a distant planet. Then the first 3D flatscreen TVs showed us soccer matches more realis tically than ever before. These were followed by 3D monitors for PCs and laptops, and fi nally by compact cameras that can generate spatial images with a single lens. Even jaded technology freaks gush about Nintendo’s portable game console with 3D effects that can be seen without glasses. The year 2010 very clearly marks the beginning of the threedimensional era in the digital world. It is changing our visual experi ences in a fundamental way. Until now, our media — whether image, photo, film, televi sion or the Internet — have been exclusively flat. Spatial images will soon be ubiquitous, however. Architects, doctors, designers, and engineers will be able to work better and more easily. We will get a much more comprehensive and lifelike impression of the people with whom we are talking during video conferences. The HTML format used on the Internet is currently being extended with XML3D commands to allow even shadows and reflections to be displayed correctly without optical tricks. Of course the new technology is still suffering from some growing pains, such as ghost images on LCD screens. Some users experience headaches and nausea. The transmission of 3D content requires more bandwidth. And 3D devices are still expensive. However, the first flat screen televisions also suffered from poor image quality, yet they still established themselves fairly quickly. The “wow” effect suggests that 3D will be a success. Once you’ve seen spatial images, you want to experience this powerful visual feeling again. 3D images are natural. We humans see spatially, and our brain uses the same tricks as our digital technology does to generate the three dimensions.
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SPECTRUM nortH america HIGHTECH NEWS FROM AN INNOVATIVE REGION “A new era of biotechnology has begun that will soon make the storm with which information technology swept the world seem like a gentle breeze.” Steffan heuer, TECHNICITY correspondent, San Francisco
Canada
cHicago, u.s. san francisco, u.s. rocHester, u.s.
camBridge, u.s.
Battery in seconds Production of a battery from carbon, silver wires, and normal paper.
Mexico
nanoparticles dispose of cHolesterol (ChiCago, u.S.) Scientists in Chicago have developed nanoparticles in order to elegantly remove harmful cholesterol from the human body. Dr. Shad Thaxton, a urologist at Northwestern University, designed the synthetic cleaning crews together with his colleague, Chad Mirkin from the National Institute for Nanotechnology. The surface of the particles is coated with fats and proteins so that the cholesterol binds to the particles rather than being deposited on the walls of the blood vessels and causing them to narrow. The now harmless freight is carried away by the bloodstream and excreted via the liver. Thaxton and Mirkin plan to commercialize their nanomedicine with a company called AuraSense. technologyreview.com
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instant Battery (San FranCiSCo, u.S.) Research ers at Stanford University are using nanotechnology to build an extremely thin, flexible battery in mere seconds. They do this by dipping a normal sheet of paper into a special ink consisting of carbon particles and micro scopically thin silver wires, in which energy can be stored. The instant battery continues to work even after the sheet of paper is crumpled up. With up to 40,000 charging cycles, the superthin capacitor is also longer lived than conventional lithium batteries, according to material scientist Yi Cui. news.stanford.edu toasters on tHe net (roCheSTer, u.S.) The start up Tenrehte Technologies has developed an easytouse, intelligent electric meter that can be used not only to monitor all household appliances but also to control them via a cell phone to lower energy consumption. The PICOwatt device, which is installed between the outlet and the end device, transmits consumption data in real time via wifi, giving every toaster its own website in the future. tenrehte.com
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artificial eyes (San FranCiSCo, u.S.) If things go as planned by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the U.S. Depart ment of Energy, in a few years surgeons will be able to implant arti ficial retinas to restore sight to millions of blind persons. The researchers are working on three critical components of the bionic eye: an extremely thin film coated with electrons, which replaces the retina; a microscopically small control unit, which is connected to the optic nerve and is not rejected by the human body; and novel surgical tools for implanting the hightech eye. The Livermore researchers have already garnered numerous prizes for the prototype of their Argus II artificial retina. publicaffairs.llnl.gov
PERSPECTIVES steffan Heuer U.S. correspondent for Brand Eins and the German edition of Technology Review. Areas of expertise: high tech and economics.
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1 The camera on the glasses captures an image and sends the information to the video processor worn on a belt.
2 The processor converts the image into an electronic signal and sends it to the transmitter on the glass.
microprocessor assemBles itself (CaMbriDge, u.S.) A team of scientists at MIT has taken another step toward achieving the dream of a selfassembling microprocessor. The engineers did this by combining two polymer chains, or two strings of molecules of different lengths. Their behavior can be programmed on the basis of their chemical properties so that they arrange themselves on a chip in predetermined patterns like a lasso around a hitching post. Chip design ers could soon use this method to create the silicon circuits of the future, for which con ventional technologies are no longer precise enough. web.mit.edu
3 The electronic signal is then sent to a receiver in the eye.
4 This data is sent through a tiny cable to the electrode array attached to the retina. An electrical pulse is then sent through the optic nerve to the brain.
Bacteria under tHe microscope Controllable movements like those of a clock mechanism.
Bacterial gears (ChiCago, u.S.) Researchers at Northwestern University mixed miniature gears with common aero bic bacteria in a nutritive solution. As soon as the bacteria swimming randomly through the solution struck the gears, the gears began to turn in a certain direction. The team reported that with the proper design of the gear arrangement, the hard working bacteria keep the machine running like clockwork. anl.gov DAIMLERTECHNICITY.COM
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Handy BiotecHnology Craig Venter doesn’t dwell on problems; he solves them. First the idiosyncratic biologist beat an en tire army of public laboratories in the race to decipher the human genome; now he is the first scientist to create artificial life. No one before him had succeeded in playing God on the computer and in the test tube. Now there will soon be handbooks de tailing how to design new genetic material on the PC and insert this biosoftware into bacteria and other organisms. After 3.5 billion years, the process of evolution is now facing competition for the first time. The immediate consequences are obvious. With some refinement, new life forms can be created that could heal diseases and solve our energy worries. But the culture shock goes much deeper. A new era of biotech nology has begun that will soon make the storm with which information technology swept the world seem like a gentle breeze. Biotechnology in 2010 corresponds to the first computers, which filled entire rooms. However, small, handy biocomputers costing a couple of hundred dollars are on the horizon. What is currently the domain of just a few labs will be a popular hobby in just a few decades, just as laptops and smartphones have harnessed undreamedof computing power for our pastimes. Years ago, the biotech visionary Freeman Dyson described a new world in which schoolchil dren and avid amateur researchers create new life forms the same way that we used to play with the chemistry set. “Genome design will become a new art form that is every bit as creative as painting or sculpt ing,” he wrote. The hightech stronghold San Francisco is already the site of regular meetings of pas sionate tinkerers practicing “doityourself biotech.” Government agencies and compa nies who provide them with the ingredients of life do not know exactly how they should react. Politicians and researchers would be well advised to establish ethical boundaries for DNA design as early as possible, before the source codes for new viruses are on the Web and every hacker can hatch his or her own organisms.
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SPECTRUM
PERSPECTIVES philipp Jarke Europe correspondent in Hamburg and London for the Zeitenspiegel interna
gÖteBorg, sweden
tional journalist agency.
augmented reality Does anyone still remember Second Life? Two or three years ago, the world of the avatars was still megahip, but today nobody wants to have anything to do with it. And rightfully so. Who wants to immerse himself in cyberspace when he can merge the virtual world with the real world using a smartphone? Aug mented reality, or digitally enriched reality, is on its way to changing our daily lives. Take the tennis tournament in Wimbledon, for in stance. Spectators could more or less look through walls if they had installed the right software on their telephones and aimed them at the stadiums. A live broadcast of the respective match then appeared on the dis play. Thus no one had to miss spectacular exchanges simply because he or she went to buy the traditional serving of strawberries and cream. A nice gimmick. Augmented reality will be used in the future to solve more pressing problems, such as the question of what nutritional informa tion food companies have to provide on their packaging. In the future we may be able to aim our smartphone at a package and in stantly receive an analysis of all the ingredi ents. Augmented reality can deliver valuable information to us where and when we need it. Among the leading providers is the Dutch startup Layar. It combines the compass and GPS functions of smartphones with hun dreds of databases on the Internet, enabling the cell phone to know what we are looking at and to find the information we want. Are you looking for an apartment? Stroll through your preferred neighborhood and use your cell phone to film the buildings in which you would like to live. Layar will then list all of the empty apartments at these addresses. The situation becomes critical when it’s no longer a matter of tennis courts and build ings, but rather of people being researched using face recognition. Photographs com bined with profiles from social networks would reveal personal details about us with out our knowledge. Technical and legal safety mechanisms are needed here so that we don’t lose our enthusiasm for this useful and entertaining development.
london, uk
municH, germany reading, uk
Barcelona, spain
green concrete Laboratory test confirms air purifying action of the novel construction material.
concrete cleans tHe air (LonDon, uK) There is hardly a modern building any where in the world that does not include any concrete. The problem is that the production of cement, one of the most important com ponents of concrete, releases an enormous amount of carbon dioxide — as much as 920 kilograms of CO2 per ton of cement. The London firm Novacem aims to change that. “Green concrete” is expected not only to be climateneutral but also to remove 100 net kilograms of CO2 from the atmosphere per ton. Magnesium oxide rather than lime is mixed into the cement, where it combines with the CO2 in the air to form carbonates and hardens. novacem.com
Hassle-free parking (barCeLona, Spain) Will there soon be an end to the hassle of finding a parking spot? Researchers at the Department of Telecommunications and Systems Engineering at the Autonomous University of Barcelona have cooperated with WorldSensing and the Catalonian Center for Telecommunications Technology to develop a system called XALOC that uses a network of sensors to direct drivers to the nearest parking spot. The wireless network sends the collected data to the drivers in real time. A portable navigation unit enables a personalized flow of data that prevents both traffic jams and stress. alphagalileo.org molecular data storage (reaDing, uK) Chemists at the University of Reading have succeeded in creating a synthetic form of DNA with mammoth storage capacities. The inspiration for this project came from the human genome, which packs a massive amount of information into the tiniest of spaces. This biochemical data storage has now been reproduced in synthetic polymer chains and could point the way toward a new Infor mation Age in which the exchange of data takes place on the molecular level. reading.ac.uk
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electric HigHWay (MuniCh, germany) Electric cars still have one major flaw: their range. The Speedway concept of Munich industrial designer Christian Förg makes this problem disappear. The road simply becomes an electric linear motor. Integrated into the lanes of the highway is a coil with whose electromagnetic field the electric cars engage by means of a counterpart coil with out touching the highway coil. The electric cars zip along for hundreds of kilometers like a maglev train, and as they go they can even charge their batteries for upcoming trips in urban traffic. Con ventionally powered cars can continue to drive on these electric highways at the same time. Modification of the highways would cost 8.5 million per kilometer.
1
External linear motor
2
Electromagnetic field
3
Electric vehicle
3
2
1
christian-foerg.de
europe HIGHTECH NEWS FROM AN INNOVATIVE REGION “Augmented reality is changing our daily lives. In the future we may be able to aim our smartphone at a package and immediately learn everything about the ingredients.” Philipp jarKe, TECHNICITY correspondent, London
1
2
1 The underwater kite from Minesto. A figureeight looping motion enables higher turbine flow. 2 A conventional system for tidal power plants, which is rigidly mounted in the bedrock.
kite as HydropoWer plant (gÖTeborg, Sweden) The Swedish firm Minesto is aiming to revolu tionize the tidal power plant sector by means of an underwater kite. Rather than being rigidly anchored in the bedrock, the turbine is installed on a towing kite, similar to the Skysails system for container ships. The difference is that the Minesto kite “flies” underwater. The kite is automatically steered through the ocean current via a cable anchored in the seabed so that it performs a figureeight loop. The movement of the kite itself increases the velocity of the water flowing through the turbine to ten times that of the ocean current. This allows the kite to be deployed in locations where the water flows too slowly for conventional tidal power plants. The kite, which has a wingspan of 12 meters, is expected to generate half a megawatt of power. The first kites are scheduled to be tested under realworld conditions off the coast of Northern Ireland in the year ahead. minesto.com
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TeXT Stephan WenGenroTh
FUELING THE FUTURE? Boosting energy efficiency and seeking out additional deposits of fossil energy sources are no longer sufficient if we are to meet the growing global demand for energy. The need for an environmentally friendly and low-co2 energy mix is becoming obvious. The contribution that biofuels can make to this mix is the subject of impassioned debate.
Co2 bALANCe: weLL-To-wHeeL CALCuLATor oN THe INTerNeT energy source
Process
fuel
Compact class gasoline-powered vehicle
drive
0
5
0 Waste wood
collection > road > cellulose factory > gasification and diesel synthesis > road
Biomass to liquid (BTl)
40
Direct injection diesel (DIcI)
10
80
120
15
160
complete chain
Vehicle only
10.2
5.3
complete chain
Vehicle only
5.8
124 Fuel consumption in liters of gasoline equivalent per 100 km Greenhouse gas emissions in grams of co2 equivalent per km
Alternative drive systems are in themselves no guarantee of low-co2 mobility. The processing steps to the tank and the choice of the appropriate drive technology are every bit as important to the audit as the combustion of the fuel. When we take all of the many options into account, the sheer range of possible scenarios for future development makes it hard to get an overview. one way of obtaining a “push-button comparison” of the different specific energy consumptions — and their associated co2 savings — is offered by the online well-to-wheel calculator “optiresource.” The graphic above shows an example of such an energy chain that makes it possible to assess the overall balance of using biofuels from waste wood.
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bIofueLs Vs. CoNVeNTIoNAL fueLs: A PHAse-bY-PHAse emIssIoNs ComPArIsoN on the road to emission-free mobility, first- and second-generation biofuels are stages along the route to using hydrogen from renewable energy sources. The fact that their use for vehicle operation results in substantially lower emissions [represented as grams of co2 equivalent per km] than corresponding conventional fuels makes them especially interesting for the transport sector. wTT (well to tank): Average value in g co2 equivalent/km to provide the fuel in the tank
TTw (tank to wheel): Average value in g co2 equivalent/km to operate the vehicle in the neDc
wTw (well to wheel): Average value in g co2 equivalent/km for the complete chain
Compressed hydrogen Wind
Hydrogen, electricity From renewable energy
7.6 (WTT) +0.0 (TTW) 7.6 (WTW)
biofuels (second generation) From biomass
biofuels (first generation) From biomass
Natural gas (CNG), hydrogen* Lower emissions, less Co2
From natural gas *Made using steam reforming
NexbTL Sunflower oil
synthetic diesel Waste wood
–55.0 (WTT) +126.8 (TTW)
–116.7 (WTT) +126.8 (TTW)
71.8( WTW)
10.1( WTW)
Compressed biogas organic waste
biodiesel (100%) rapeseed
ethanol (100%) Sugarcane
–75.6 (WTT) +107.6 (TTW)
–51.1 (WTT) +136.5 (TTW)
–114.5 (WTT) +135.9 (TTW)
32.0 (WTW)
85.4( WTW)
21.4( WTW)
Compressed natural gas natural gas
Compressed hydrogen natural gas
26.3 (WTT) +107.6 (TTW)
82.2 (WTT) +0.0 (TTW)
133.9( WTW)
82.2 (WTW)
Conventional fuels From crude oil diesel crude oil
Gasoline crude oil
25.1 (WTT) +131.1 (TTW)
23.5 (WTT) +138.8 (TTW)
156.2( WTW)
162.3 (WTW)
DAIMler-TechnIcITy.coM
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,1
SUSTAINABLE FUELS AROUND THE WORLD GLobAL bIofueL TrAdING A global market in biofuels has developed due to the differing regional production conditions and demand. estimated production and consumption in 2015 (in billion liters of gasoline equivalent):
79.5 68.1
34.1 e
As
p ro
eu
24.6 ia
7.2
3.8 r No th a
ic er Am a
ric Af d
an e
dl
id
m st
ea
3
0.8
49.2 c Pa
nt
Ce
6.8
1.5
a
ic
er
Am
s
h
ie
ut
tr
so
un
co
d
an
c
iďŹ
l ra
22.7
consumption in 2015 in billion liters of gasoline equivalent Production in 2015 in billion liters of gasoline equivalent
THe LArGesT ProduCers of bIofueLs (IN 2008)
eu 60%
u.S. 51%
u.S. 17%
Brazil 37%
others 12%
china 4%
Indonesia 4%
eu 4%
Malaysia 3% Brazil 2%
canada 2%
china 1%
others 2%
canada 1%
bioethanol 52.0 billion liters
30
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biodiesel 10.2 billion liters
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ob al Gl
GrowING demANd for bIofueLs The demand for fuel for the road transport sector will grow substantially by 2015. Biofuels will play an ever greater role in this area. The diagram illustrates the expected regional developments,
a di
in
In
Ch
0.2%
20 10 20 15
0.2 Mtoe
of global demand
0.1 Mtoe
0.4%
of global demand
1.5 Mtoe
2.8%
0.7 Mtoe
8.4 Mtoe
10.4 Mtoe
of global demand
1.7%
20 10 20 15
19%
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a
a
20%
20 10 20 15
20.5 Mtoe
15.4 Mtoe
20 10 20 15
18.0 Mtoe
of global demand
14.8 Mtoe
38%
of global demand
La
No r
th
tin
Am
Am
er
er
ic
ic
a
eu
37%
33%
20 10 20 15
54.5 Mtoe
41.5 Mtoe (megatons of oil equivalent)
36%
20 10 20 15
SourceS: u.S. Department of energy, World Biofuels Production Potential (2008), FAo — Biofuels: prospects, risks and opportunities (2008), FAPrI 2008 u.S. and World Agriculture outlook
assuming that the political situation remains unchanged.
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07.10.10 06:16
GASOLINE, DIESEL, NATURAL GAS: FOSSIL FUELS REACH THEIR LIMIT For an entire century, the question of which fuels we could use to guarantee mobility was easy to answer. It’s also obvious why the situation cannot remain the way it is. The first reason is the fact that global oil and natural gas reserves are in irreversible decline. To meet global demand, it is necessary to tap deposits that are increasingly difficult to extract. The production costs of fossil fuels will increase dramatically within the next few decades. Secondly, the need to protect the climate will have to be taken into account in the coming years. One of the important tasks here will be to reduce the use of fossil fuels in favor of renewable sources of energy. For road and freight traffic, which is responsible for around 20 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions of industrial countries such as Germany, it is therefore vital to examine all possible ways of utilizing efficient drive technologies and climate-friendly fuels. Says Stefan Bringezu, head of the working group on biofuels of the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, “Both together have the best effect on the carbon dioxide balance.”
PRICE DIFFERENCES: BIOFUEL COST PER GIGAJOULE (€ per gigajoule)
Cellulose
€ 31
Wheat
€ 24
Rapeseed
€ 24
Soy
€ 23
Sugar beet
€ 22
Corn
€ 20
Sugarcane
€ 19
Jatropha
€ 12
JATROPHA — CHEAP RAW MATERIAL FOR BIODIESEL Jatropha, a raw material for biodiesel, is currently being grown
“Even the more advanced biofuels can only cover a part of the demand for fuel.”
on a 100-hectare site in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Daimler supports this additional source of income for the farmers involved by providing surety for small loans to cover the expenses of the first five years. Daimler also provides a purchase guarantee. Starting in the fifth year, the loan repayments are used to grant
Stefan BRINGEZU
loans to additional small farmers. This creates an economic
International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management
cycle that sustainably supports the economic situation of the communities in question.
First-generation biofuels — those that are made from the oil from rapeseed, sunflowers or oil palms, or that are in the form of alcohol obtained from sugarcane, corn or wheat, can theoretically reduce the CO2 emissions of vehicles. In practice, however, positive results are by no means guaranteed. Although it is correct that the carbon dioxide that is released during the combustion of such fuels cannot be more than the amount that the plants absorbed from the atmosphere during their growth phase, this is far from the whole story. That’s because the decisive figure is the CO2 balance calculated over the biofuel’s entire production and processing chain. What’s more, the overall result is also dependent on the combination of alternative fuels and their appropriate vehicle technologies, such as more efficient gasoline or diesel engines, or hybrid drive concepts. In order to decide which solutions will contribute the most to climate protection despite this complex collection of issues, the engineers at Daimler are participating in a whole series of research partnerships. One of the results is a well-to-wheel calculator — a software solution for comparing the fuel consumption and the CO2 balances of the widest range of possible combinations of energy sources, fuel types, and vehicle technologies. The calculated values are based on analyses of the individual biofuels that were carried out as part of a European study. These were “well-to-wheel” analyses — that is, they covered the entire process chain from the production of the biomass to its refinement and processing, and on through to the vehicle’s use of the energy from the fuel. However, some of the possibilities that are being investigated in the research projects, such as the use of hydrogen-powered fuel cells, are not yet in widespread use in road or freight traffic. In contrast, biodiesel and plant-based bioethanol are fuels that have been well established for a long time now. 32
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SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY: MORE THAN JUST A BIOFUEL ADMIXTURE The European Union’s directive concerning renewable energy, for example, obliges fuel producers to source ten percent of their total production of all gasoline and diesel fuels from renewable sources by the year 2020. In current practice, this is largely accomplished through the admixture of biofuel with conventional gasoline or diesel. The advantage of such a process is that a fuel mixture including a biofuel component of five to ten percent from renewable raw materials can be used in conventional vehicles without the need for technological changes — nor does it necessitate a separate distribution infrastructure. This current admixture strategy does not, however, offer the best way forward in the medium and long terms. That’s because vehicles must be able to use a higher proportion of biofuels if we are to replace increasing amounts of fossil fuels with renewable energy and thus make the transport of tomorrow as climate-friendly as possible. The development of suitable engine and exhaust gas treatment technologies is only one side of this story, however. At the same time, it will also be essential to guarantee the sustainable production of biofuels in large quantities. Furthermore, this biofuel production must lead to substantial savings in CO2 emissions. A UNEP study of the current biofuel situation worldwide shows that these conditions cannot be assumed as a given. In Brazil, sugarcane is fermented and distilled to produce ethanol. The resulting wastes are also used for electricity generation. Compared with filling up with conventional gasoline, the climate balance of this process shows that CO2 emissions are reduced by 70 percent T
07.10.10 17:03
or more. The fuel used in the nexBTl fleet test conducted by Daimler was specially certified according to sustainability criteria. There are, however, contrasting negative examples as well. For example, when areas of rain forest or raised bog in Southeast Asia are used to establish palm oil plantations, this not only has negative effects on the environment, but the production of the resulting biodiesel can end up causing more damage to the climate than a corresponding amount of conventionally refined petroleum. In Germany, a sustainability ordinance that has been in force since 2009 requires fuel producers to analyze and document the positive effects of their production chains. This does not, however, address a further problem, which becomes more controversial with biofuels’ increasing success. At present, only about 36 million hectares worldwide are devoted to the cultivation of plants for biofuels. The harvest of this area supplies less than two percent of the total fuel production for vehicles around the world. however, cultivating the plants that would be needed to produce sufficient first-generation biofuels to replace every tenth liter of fuel used for transport purposes would require the use of almost one-quarter of the world’s total arable land (around 118 million of the available 508 million hectares) for energy supply. This vision is neither sensible nor desirable in light of the increasing global population and the existing food shortages in many regions of the world. THe NeXT GeNerATIoN: No ComPeTITIoN beTweeN food ANd fueL Scientists and industrial researchers around the world are therefore searching for alternatives to the use of arable land for fuel production. Their objective is to achieve “renewable mobility” without worsening the problem of competition between food and fuel cultivation. one of their results is the cultivation of a wild plant called jatropha. The fruits of this plant have an oil content of more than 30 percent, which makes them ideal for fuel production. At the same time, this tough and undemanding plant can be cultivated on marginal land. It can even be cultivated in soil that would be useless for growing food crops. Jatropha cultivation also protects existing wasteland against further erosion.
“We want technical solutions that don’t distinguish between biological and fossil fuels.” roland doLd
Source: Fachagentur nachwachsende rohstoffe e. V.
Project Manager nexBTl fleet test, commercial Vehicles Advanced Development
“There are no biological raw materials that are both ecologically and economically best suited to the production of biofuels throughout the world. every region has to chart its own optimal course, paying attention to the relevant climatic and structural conditions,” says Dr. Stefan Keppeler, a Daimler expert on the development of technology for biofuels. “one point is true all over the world, however — you always need the right well-to-wheel balance.” Some researchers are taking a different route, for example on the coasts of Spain and France, as well as in southern california. They are looking to omega-3 fatty acids from algae to provide the basis for a fuel. especially suitable types of algae store a large proportion of their total weight as fat reserves during their growth. Both coastal waters and land-based aquaculture — for example in desert areas — are cur-
rently being tried out as cultivation sites. But the promising advances in this field are not confined to the biological feedstocks — progress is also being made in the development of production technologies for biofuels. This is particularly important, mainly because the solutions for diesel drives that have been developed to date are far from adequate. one of the reasons for this is that the chemical composition of biodiesel produced from oilseeds is very different from that of conventional petroleum-derived diesel.
AVerAGe ANNuAL YIeLd Per HeCTAre of CuLTIVATed LANd (liters of fuel equivalent / ha)
4977 l
Biogenic hydrogen
4739 l
BTl diesel
3910 l
Bioethanol (from corn)
2440 l
Biodiesel (from rapeseed oil)
1450 l
HIGH YIeLd Generating methane from biomass produces the highest yields on average.
Second-generation biofuels — so-called BTl (biomass-to-liquid) fuels — offer one solution to this problem. These are produced by generating a synthesis gas from the biological starting material in the first process step, and then converting this gas into complex hydrocarbons in a subsequent synthesis process. The material produced in this way can be refined into fuels that can be used by gasoline and diesel engines alike. This process offers a number of advantages. not only are the decisive chemical characteristics of the fuel it produces almost indistinguishable from those of conventional products, but the range of raw materials that can be used for biofuel production is also dramatically increased. In addition to the oil fruits of the fuel plants, the plants’ remaining biomass can also be utilized. Second-generation biofuels thus achieve a higher yield per hectare. What’s more, other cellulose-rich biomass such as straw from food plants or waste wood from forestry can also be used as starting materials. nonetheless, a whole series of development efforts will have to be completed before this manufacturing technology becomes available at competitive costs and on an industrial scale. The engineers at Daimler are already working on the development of appropriate engine technologies in parallel with the development of these biofuels. In addition to future-oriented drive technologies for passenger cars, the transport of goods also plays a major role. First of all, freight transport by trucks weighing 3.5 tons and more is responsible for a substantial part of the transport sector’s co2 emissions. Secondly, diesel drive is an irreplaceable element in the long-term future of freight transport. Although electric vehicles that run on batteries or fuel cells offer options for the future in the passenger car sector and for vans and buses, the technical developers working in the area of efficient freight transport are focusing on diesel drives characterized by low fuel consumption and the maximum possible environmental friendliness.
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Biogas (value for biomethane)
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BIODIESEL IN GERMANY bTL fACILITY IN sAXoNY The world’s first demonstration facility for biomass-toliquid (BTl) fuel production is currently being put into operation in Freiberg, Saxony. This plant uses the carbo V method to create extremely pure, tar-free synthesis
bIodIeseL IN CommerCIAL VeHICLes
gas, which is then converted into fuel using the Fischer-
The use of biofuels in commercial vehicles offers enormous potential for the reduction of greenhouse
Tropsch process. The plant can produce 18 million liters
hamburg
of BTl fuel per year from shredded wood. choren
gas emissions. Making use of sustainable biodiesel and
Industries, the operating company, cooperates closely
consistently improving it is extremely important in this
with Daimler and VW. Technical details of the facility:
context. By way of comparison, more than 1.7 million
• 31.5 km of pipelines
tons of biodiesel were consumed by commercial vehicles
• 5,000 measurement signals
in Germany in 2007 — and 0.96 million tons were con-
• 181 containers and reactors
hanover
sumed by passenger cars.
• 45 MW of thermal power
leipzig Dresden
biodiesel refinery NexbTL fleet test sTuTTGArT: Four Mercedes-Benz citaros for Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG NuremberG region: Five Mercedes-Benz Ategos and fi ve Mercedes-Benz Actros for Deutsche Post Dhl
cologne
Frankfurt
Production locations mANNHeIm and Neu-uLm plants: citaro production wÖrTH plant: Actros and Atego production
FREIBERG
MANNHEIM
NUREMBERG
WÖRTH STUTTGART
NEU-ULM Munich
PILoT TrIAL wITH dAImLer buses ANd TruCKs Since 2008, Daimler, Deutsche Post Dhl, oMV, Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG, and other partners have been running a joint pilot project to study the long-term use of nexBTl fuel in trucks and buses. The project involves: • 5 Ategos, 5 Actros, and 4 citaros from Mercedes-Benz • running on environmentally friendly nexBTl diesel • Driving a total of 3.3 million kilometers • Saving more than 2,000 tons of co2 emissions in the process • cutting co2 emissions by more than 60 percent by comparison mercedes-benz Atego fleet test with biodiesel
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DIALOGUE Roland DOLD Project Manager, NExBTL fleet test, Commercial Vehicles Advanced Development
Daimler produces vehicles, not fuel. Why are you nevertheless participating intensively in the development of biofuels? Strategic approaches in the area of biogenic fuels are currently being discussed by lawmakers, petroleum companies, and automakers. In particular, the ongoing discussion concerning CO2 is having a dramatic effect on possible scenarios for the future of energy. The NExBTL field test is about increasing our know-how regarding the behavior of new types of biofuel in the real world, ensuring the technical suitability of our vehicles for use with such fuels, and supporting the ongoing product strategy process at our company.
SOURCE: Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V.
What will that look like in practice? Will we already have to choose between filling up with biofuel or getting gas at the conventional fuel pump when we buy the vehicle? Not at all. Our customers will continue to have their rightful claim to a simple, comprehensive, and reliable energy supply for their vehicles. This means that generally applicable fuel standards must continue to exist in the future. We already have a biogenic component in today’s “standard diesel,” which can be used without any restrictions. A large part of the current discussion is concerned with the role that will be played by these biogenic components in the future. Of course, future fuel grades must be usable without any limitations, in order to ensure standardization. Why are biofuels such an important issue for the commercial vehicle sector? This is because the extremely efficient diesel engine will be irreplaceable for driving heavy-duty commercial vehicles in the foreseeable future. Biogenic fuels can make a contribution to improving the CO2 balance in this sector — while simultaneously meeting strict exhaust gas standards and maintaining their extremely high fuel efficiency.
ONLY FEASIBLE TOGETHER: THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRIVE SYSTEMS AND FUEL The Daimler engineers are making use of an interim solution that enables them to test the interplay of technology and the new generation of biofuels thoroughly and at an early stage. It involves hydrogenating the vegetable oil raw material to produce the fuel in packed-bed reactors with cobalt and nickel-molybdenum catalysts at 350 to 450 degrees Celsius and a hydrogen partial pressure of 48 to 152 bar. The chemical composition of this fuel corresponds to the composition of future BTL fuels and that of conventional petroleum-derived diesel. Two years ago Daimler started a fleet test using NExBTL fuel. The test, which is being carried out together with Deutsche Post DHL, the energy company OMV, Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG, and other partners, covers all of Germany and is scheduled to run until 2011. The initial results, which were obtained after one year and the first million kilometers driven, not only demonstrated that this biofuel can fully replace petroleum-derived diesel, but also showed that thanks to the stringent sustainability criteria for the palm oil cultivation, the CO2 balance achieved excluding the energy used for the manufacture of the fuel was close to neutral. Furthermore, the high purity and quality of the biofuel led to a significant reduction of the emissions of nitrogen oxides compared to normal diesel. However, the field trial is not only intended to show how today’s freight transport can be made more environmentally friendly. The engineers at Daimler are also making further use of the results, especially in the development of future vehicle generations. The results are helping them optimize engine technology and exhaust gas systems for commercial vehicles, which will not only have to meet the Euro VI standard when it comes into force in January 2015, but will also have to take account of other stringent environmental targets for the commercial vehicle sector. Biofuel production is another area in which researchers are working on solutions for a long-term and sustainable answer to the world’s mobility requirements. With the BTL process, for example, it should become possible to produce fuel from a wide range of waste products. In principle, any kind of animal or vegetable biomass can be used for the production of second-generation biofuels. Regardless of which starting material is used, the resulting product is a fuel of high and consistent quality that can be used not only as an admixture but also in its pure form.
HYPERLINK You’ll find further information related to this article at:
daimler-technicity.com/biofuels including the following features: • BACKGROUND Converted to biogas: Commercial vehicles with environmentally friendly drives • INTERVIEW An expert’s perspective on the opportunities for biofuels: Stefan BRINGEZU, International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, talks about the results of his studies • BACKGROUND The well-to-wheel calculator: How does your fuel mix add up?
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ANALOGY 2 HIGH-GAIN ANTENNA Focuses the transmitted and the received signals for communicating with the ground station. 4 STAR TRACKER Determines the probe’s position in space by recognizing nearby stars.
3
1
5
SOLAR ARRAY Energy is generated by a solar array almost 20 meters wide.
XENON TANK Fuel is carried in a highpressure container with a titanium seal. ION PROPULSION SYSTEM Supplied with electricity from the solar array.
4
2 3
1 5
Project start 2007
Weight
Launch
Propulsion system
Efficiency
Additional features
Energy generation
Electrical output
Mass at launch: 1.1 t (of which 425 kg was contained in the xenon tank)
Launch by Delta II 7925H booster rocket, which accelerated it to 11.4 km/s, after which the probe switched to ion propulsion
Three ion thrusters supplied with electricity from a solar array
Ten times more efficient than conventional rockets. Lower costs due to the need for less fuel
Conventional hydrazine rockets are used to enter orbit
Photovoltaics
Solar array with 10 kW of output at the time of launch
Dawn Space Probe During its mission of studying the birth of the solar system, the NASA spacecraft gets the energy for operating its propulsion system from solar panels. Dawn is the first space probe that can travel to and orbit more than one body in space. To accomplish this, the spacecraft switches from non-conventional ion propulsion to conventional chemical rockets, making Dawn a hybrid in space.
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2 HIGH-VOLTAGE WIRING Composed of several copper cores (alternating current in the hybrid system). Individually insulated and jointly shielded.
4
1 5
CONTROL SYSTEM Hybrid control module (HCM) for controlling and monitoring the hybrid components.
3 INVERTER As the link between the motor and the battery, the inverter converts alternating current and direct current when the battery is being charged or discharged.
ELECTRIC MOTOR/GENERATOR Integrated into the transmission housing. Serves as a motor when propelling the vehicle and as a generator when braking.
HIGH-VOLTAGE BATTERY Modular lithium-ion technology with demanddriven air cooling.
1
4
2
3
5
Project start
Weight
Start
Propulsion system
Efficiency
Additional features
Energy generation
Electrical output
2008
Gross vehicle weight: 12 t Payload: 5.1 t
Smooth start with the electric motor; the diesel engine takes most of the drive load once the truck accelerates above a walking pace
Parallel diesel-electric hybrid drive: fourcylinder engine and electric motor
Hybrid technology with engine start/stop systems substantially cuts fuel consumption and emissions, which fall by 10 to 15%
The electric motor supports the combustion engine when driving and produces fuel savings
recovers braking energy (regeneration) and coasting (without hitting the gas pedal)
Maximum output of 44 kW and 420 Nm of torque
Mercedes-Benz Atego BlueTec Hybrid The challenging mission of the Mercedes-Benz Atego BlueTec Hybrid is to provide a production-ready solution for efficient, low-emission distribution. Thanks to its design as a self-sufficient system, the Atego BlueTec Hybrid does not require any special charging infrastructure, which means it has complete operational flexibility.
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A Daimler Brand
Science fiction. Without fiction. The B-Class F-CELL comes with the innovative fuel cell system from Mercedes-Benz. The electric vehicle is powered solely by the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. This means that the B-Class F-CELL can go as far as 400 kilometres without producing any local emissions – apart from heat and water vapour. BlueEFFICIENCY is our way to emission-free mobility. Now available in over 85 Mercedes-Benz models. Fast forward to tomorrow. www.mercedes-benz.com/blueefficiency
Fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined: 1.01/0.94/0.97 kg H₂ /100 km; CO₂ emissions: 0.0 g/km. Figures do not relate to the specific emissions or fuel consumption of any individual vehicle, do not form part of any offer and are intended solely to aid comparison between different types of vehicle.
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• Kunde: Mercedes-Benz • Produkt: B-Klasse FCell“ • Titel/Objekt: Technicity • 216 x 279 mm • • 4c • Jung v. Matt • 13404/23/10003/07 • DTP Thomas -1144
Revolution
innovation
navigation
all over the world, researchers and engineers are optimizing the potential of fuel cell technology. Together with hydrogen as an energy carrier, fuel cells will be an essential pillar of the third industrial Revolution, according to Jeremy rifkin, President of the foundation on economic Trends (foeT). (page 40) Products from all application areas are becoming more lightweight; in the product design process, every gram of the weight of an innovation is critically examined. one of the reasons for this is the need to cut costs and save energy. The basic principle is “Use the right material in the right place.” (page 62) The increasing importance of technology in daily life is changing the way space is used in cities. The more data is electronically registered in cities, the easier navigation becomes through “sensor-controlled” city neighborhoods. carlo raTTi, a professor at the SenSeable city lab of the massachusetts institute of Technology (miT), talks about his vision of the interaction between sensors and human beings. (page 68)
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Proton-conducting membrane At the heart of a fuel cell is an ultra-thin, protonconducting membrane that looks like a black plastic foil. These membranes, which separate gaseous hydrogen and oxygen, are individually housed within bipolar plates.
Membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) consists of a proton-conducting membrane coated on both sides with catalysts for electrochemical energy generation. Both sides also have a gas diffusion layer to ensure that hydrogen and oxygen are available for power generation at every part of the membrane.
The bipolar plate ensures a uniform supply of hydrogen and air to the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). Coolant flowing through the interior of the bipolar plate removes heat from the cells and keeps the MEA at the proper operating temperature.
Fuel cell gaskets seal off the reaction chambers for hydrogen and air from each other and from the environment. These gaskets also seal off the coolant so that the fuel cell can operate safely at variable pressures.
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TExT
PhoTogrAPhy
Peter ThoMAs
stefan hohloCh
Fuel cell Future TEchnologicAl rEvoluTion Fuel cells can already be found everywhere — in laptops, streetcars, airplanes, heating systems and, above all, in automobiles. The huge potential fuel cells offer as efficient and versatile energy converters is now fully recognized. in fact, fuel cell technology is closer to the mass production stage than it has ever been before.
TEchnology From the vision to
SySTEM The drive system consists
inFrASTrucTurE From the pro-
ExPErT viEW Jeremy riFkin, Presi-
fundamental research and the final
of an electric motor, a battery, and a
duction plant to the tank. how will
dent of the Foundation on Economic
drive concept — the fuel cell between
fuel cell. An overview of the interplay
hydrogen be used today and tomorrow
Trends (FoET), explains why fuel
revolutionary everyday use and fasci-
between the high-tech elements in
as an energy carrier?
cell technology and hydrogen could
nating future technology.
Mercedes-Benz F-CEll vehicles.
PAgE 50
serve as the cornerstones for a third
PAgE 44
PAgE 48
industrial revolution. PAgE 54
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cell stack
the Fuel cell StacK
The fuel cell stack consists of alternating layers of bipolar plates and membrane-electrode assemblies. The stack’s height depends on the desired electric charge to be achieved.
The cells are arranged in stacks. hydrogen reacts with air in each cell to generate electric current. The only locally produced emission from the fuel cell is water vapor.
Air inlet Air is drawn into the fuel cell through the opening. The air outlet is analogously located at the edge of the end plate.
hydrogen outlet hydrogen flows out of the cell from here and into the recirculation system. The hydrogen inlet is analogously located at the edge of the end plate.
hoW A FuEl cEll WorKS
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The membrane is coated on both sides with a
located in the bipolar plates are used to cool down
catalytic layer made of platinum and carbon. These
the cell. hydrogen and air provide the cells with the
catalytic layers are topped with a gas diffusion layer
ingredients they need to bring about the continu-
(GDl) that ensures that the hydrogen gas and air are
ous chemical reactions that supply the vehicle with
uniformly distributed on the surfaces of the cell. The
energy. The catalytic coating of platinum and carbon
fuel cells themselves are enclosed by the so-called
excites the hydrogen in such a way that it reacts with
bipolar plates. These metal plates are structured
the oxygen to form water. During this process, the
with channels for the gas exchange and also serve
protons bond with the oxygen through the membrane,
simultaneously as electrodes and cooling elements.
while the electrons from the hydrogen generate a
hydrogen is fed to the anode of the cell, while
direct current, which flows from the anode to the
compressed air flows to the cathode, supplying the
cathode. it is this electric energy that is actually used
oxygen required for the reaction. Fine water ducts
to drive the electric motor.
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End plate The end plate is used to draw the electric current and also serves as an interface for the supply of the reaction gases and the coolant.
clamp The fuel cell stack is pressed together at high pressure and then clamped in order to minimize electrical contact resistances in the cell stack and ensure that all of the cells are sealed.
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technology Fuel cells represent a fascinating future technology that is already revolutionizing the areas in which it is used. The technology is now closer than ever before to integrated application in production vehicles. viSionAry rEAliTy Advanced hydrogen technology applications, such as the use of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) in laptop computers, or the operation of a solid oxide Fuel Cell (soFC) as a private household power plant, are already a reality today. Though the various technologies differ, their principle of operation is the same: An energy carrier (such as hydrogen, natural gas, or methanol) reacts in the fuel cell with oxygen from the ambient air, generating electricity and heat in the process. The Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), which is particularly suitable for use with automobile drive systems, functions in the same manner. This type of fuel cell runs on hydrogen and emits only water vapor. Fuel cells form a young, global technology market that is growing strongly across a wide range of sectors. The importance of this technology for industry is increasing as more and more fuel cell products move from the development to the mass production stage. The main goal for the coming years is to increase the service life of fuel cells and lower their cost. Although these new energy converters are now fascinating the entire world, the electrochemical principle they are based on was actually discovered in 1839 by William r. Grove. however, it wasn’t until the last 20 years or so that major research advances were achieved and fuel cells became suitable for everyday applications. The technology is benefiting from these developments — and fuel cells are on their way to becoming a key technology for the 21st century. The most environmentally friendly fuel cells are powered by hydrogen — number 1 in the Periodic Table and also the simplest and most common element on our planet. on Earth, hydrogen normally exists as a gas whose molecules contain two atoms, which is where the abbreviation h2 comes from. These molecules are small and light and have a high energy density. hydrogen fuel thus forms the key to a sustainable energy cycle: Electrolysis is used to separate hydrogen from the water in which it is contained in a process that converts electrical energy into chemical energy. Electrical energy can then be generated again when hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water, as this process reversal produces electricity and water vapor. Fuel cells offer the most efficient way to exploit hydrogen in this manner. globAl rESPonSibiliTy hydrogen can be used an infinite number of times, which means it can be obtained anywhere by “splitting water” with the help of electricity from conventional or — even better — renewable sources. This can be done with electricity obtained onsite — for example, at a wind park located next to an electrolyzer — or with energy generated from renewable sources and supplied by the power grid. These are the key elements of a hydrogen-based economy that will achieve a new level of quality in terms of supplying people around the world with energy for electricity, mobility, and communication systems. The new level of quality will take the form of significantly lower emissions and independence from fossil fuels and raw materials — particularly when it comes to individual and collective mobility 44
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with vehicles. More specifically, it will be possible to produce electric cars powered by fuel cells, like the B-Class F-CEll from MercedesBenz. These vehicles will leave conventional technologies from past decades in the dust — and are in fact already beginning to do so today. The B-Class F-CEll is a highly focused expression of extraordinary expertise and years of research and development work. “Daimler occupies an outstanding position in the international fuel cell sector, and we’re already clearly the best as far as certain aspects of the technology are concerned,” says Christian Mohrdieck, a physicist who serves as the Director of Fuel Cell and Battery Drive Development at Daimler. in Germany, operating a vehicle adorned with the distinctive F-CEll label is extremely easy. First, you fill up at one of the still rare hydrogen stations — and after two or three minutes, your tank is full of hydrogen gas pressurized to 700 bars. Then you get into the vehicle, turn the key, drive off, and enjoy the performance of the 100-kilowatt (kW) electric motor with its impressive torque. Anyone who has been privileged to drive such a vehicle doesn’t suspect for a moment that he or she is driving something that was once considered an experiment at the limits of feasibility.
“Daimler occupies an outstanding position in the international fuel cell sector.” christian MohrdiEcK Director of Fuel Cell and Battery Drive Development
rEvoluTionAry EvErydAy uSE it is exactly this intuitive operation of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CEll that marks a new revolution. After all, cutting edge, state-of-the-art systems like fuel cells can only be used on a broad basis in the automotive sector if they fulfill customer requirements for performance and ease of use. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CEll meets these requirements, and also offers the range and top speeds customers demand. Mercedes-Benz will begin delivering the first B-Class F-CEll models to customers in Germany, north America, and norway in 2010. These customers will then be able to experience the performance offered by an electric drive powered by a fuel cell under everyday conditions. The B-Class F-CEll’s journey around the world begins in sindelfingen, Germany, where the vehicles are assembled in a small-batch production process. The F-CEll prototypes manufactured over the last few years were built in nabern in southern Germany. At the moment, five B-Class F-CEll vehicles are waiting in the production hall to be delivered. There’s plenty of light to accentuate their paint jobs, and the factory halls and floors are painted in light colors, making the room look almost like the pit of a Formula one racing team. The ambience is appropriate because the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CEll is like a silver Arrow without the roar of the engine. in fact, because there’s no combustion in the drive unit, the vehicle is completely quiet. People will have to get used to this, as the whispering tone will be a trademark of our future electric mobility. The quiet and powerful T
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hydrogen tanK Pressurized gas tanks encased in carbon fiber store hydrogen in the vehicle floor at 700 bars. The hydrogen is fed to the fuel cell for energy conversion via special safety valves and pipes.
The valve unit consists of a cutoff valve located between the pressure tank and the piping system, a temperature sensor in the pressure tank, a high-pressure sensor, and a safety fuse to protect the pressure tank in the event of a fire.
The service connection is used to withdraw gas when the tank is serviced.
hydrogEn/chEMiSTry hydrogen is the most common element in our universe, which is why it can be found everywhere. on the Earth, it is contained mostly in compounds ranging from water to various solids. however, in order to be used as an energy carrier in a fuel cell, hydrogen
h 2o
Electrolysis
El ec
must be in its elementary form as a gas or liquid.
Energy
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Pure hydrogen can be produced by electrolysis. here, electrical energy is used to split water molecules into
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sources such as the wind or the sun, in which case
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offers great opportunities for utilizing electricity from
ga s
their hydrogen and oxygen components. Electrolysis
lit
hydrogen can serve as an energy storage medium
sp
that enables electricity production to be temporally decoupled from demand.
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drive systems in electric vehicles equipped with fuel cells are the same as those employed in battery-electric cars. The only difference is that hydrogen can provide the energy to keep the electric motor running longer, giving the vehicle a much greater range. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CEll does have a lithium-ion battery. however, like the batteries in a conventional full hybrid vehicle, it is only used for rapid initial acceleration, compensating load peaks when accelerating, and storing energy recovered from braking. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CEll is thus a fuel cell-hybrid vehicle. Because the battery covers load peaks, the fuel cell can be operated at a very high level of efficiency more frequently and for longer periods. This, in turn, ensures a longer service life for each stack. B-Class F-CElls are given their first tank of fuel directly at the Mercedes-Benz plant. The nearest h2 filling station after that is located at stuttgart Airport. There’s also a hydrogen station in nabern, where a snow-white pressurized tank rises up into the sky like an exclamation point in front of Teck Castle, which can be seen on the horizon in the distance. The tank stores the hydrogen that flows down to the filling station pumps when needed. SEcurE SuPPly Although not too many people know it, more hydrogen is available today as an energy carrier than is being consumed. “A plentiful source has existed for some time now: the hydrogen that the chemical industry generates as a waste product. The höchst industrial park near Frankfurt alone produces 30 to 50 million cubic meters of hydrogen every year. Today, enough hydrogen is generated as an industrial byproduct worldwide to fuel 750,000 vehicles,” says Arwed niestroj, a physicist who is head of Fuel Cell Fleet operations at Daimler and is responsible for Daimler’s worldwide fleet of hydrogen buses, vans, and passenger cars. niestroj knows better than practically anyone how to supply vehicles with hydrogen and ensure they are regularly and properly maintained. To ensure demand doesn’t exceed supply in the future, advances need to be made in the industrial production of hydrogen, which could end up being a key energy carrier for the transport sector by 2050. The latter conclusion was contained in the final report published in 2009 for the “Germanhy” study commissioned by the German Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBs) in cooperation with the national organization hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (noW). The automotive industry is at the cutting edge of developments here and Daimler is one of the world’s leading automakers when it comes to fuel cell drive expertise and experience. “Process function-
ality has reached maturity and the associated vehicles are completely ready for everyday use,” says Mohrdieck. so the objective now is to improve the economic efficiency of fuel cells. Mohrdieck is convinced that once scientists and engineers achieve this goal, Daimler will be able to offer a broad spectrum of fuel cell vehicles ranging from passenger cars to trucks in five to ten years’ time.
“optimization of the fuel cells in order to reduce series-production costs is currently the most important goal.” Andreas TrucKEnbrodT Managing Director of the Automotive Fuel Cell Corporation (AFCC)
Cables, tubes, and measuring devices surround a fuel cell system operating at full steam. Engineers are already putting next-generation fuel cell drives through their paces on test stands at nuCellsys in nabern. The Managing Director of the wholly owned Daimler subsidiary, Massimo Venturi, says the new drive system will be more compact, more powerful, and more versatile than the current technology employed in the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CEll. some 40 kilometers outside of nabern, specialists in sindelfingen are assembling the drive system for the current Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CEll model series. The process is clearly structured, as the small-batch production system is based on the lean manufacturing concept, says Venturi. This concept will also be employed for series production in coming years. low-temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) represent the system of choice for automotive applications. Daimler has also been using PEMFC units since it built its first test vehicle in 1994 — the nECAr 1. At the center of each PEMFC is a 15 to 20-micrometer-thick protonconducting ion membrane, which is responsible for the controlled chemical bonding of gaseous hydrogen and oxygen. This is why this fuel cell’s operation is also referred to as “cold combustion.” At the heart of the system is the stack, which consists of 200 to 400 individual fuel cells that are piled on top of one another inside a splash-proof encasement. The stacks are developed in Vancouver, Canada, by the Automotive Fuel Cell Corporation (AFCC), a joint venture between Daimler, Ford, and Ballard Power systems. “Daimler owns 50.1 percent of the company and now manages the industrial
FuEl cEll rESEArch And dEvEloPMEnT AT dAiMlEr Daimler begins conducting research into the use of hydrogen as an energy source for vehicle drive systems.
nEcAr 2
nEcAr 3
1980
1996
1997
1994
nEcAr 4 Advanced
1998
1999
nEcAr 5
2000
2001
conceptualization and feasibility studies
nEcAr 1
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processes,” says AFCC Managing Director Andreas Truckenbrodt, who adds that the most important goal at AFCC is to further optimize the fuel cells in order to cut series-production costs. Truckenbrodt believes the best way to achieve this goal is through higher unit volumes and advances in materials research and manufacturing processes. That’s why AFCC wants to lower the platinum content in the catalyst coating, reduce the size of the stacks, and convert the assembly procedure from manual prototype production to industrial processes. “if i want to build 10,000 stacks a year over the medium term, i can’t pile up 250 cells by hand for each unit,” says Truckenbrodt.
“During the last ten years, the reliable cold start marked a milestone in fuel cell development.” Massimo vEnTuri Managing Director of nuCellsys Gmbh
According to Venturi, a great deal of Daimler fuel cell expertise is contained in the stacks and the systems around them. This expertise was gained through years of extensive development activities that ultimately solved the conceptual problems initially associated with fuel cell systems. During the last ten years, the reliable cold start marked a key technology milestone in fuel cell development, says Venturi. At least as important was the integration of the stack into the overall system and the development of a system operation strategy. That’s because even technically identical fuel cell systems used in the same vehicle may be operated and controlled in accordance with different strategies. This is true of the Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCEll-hybrid, for example, in which two passenger car fuel cell systems are directly connected. This approach will also play a key role in the introduction of fuel cell drives for commercial vehicles. The fuel cell technology sector is an exciting and dynamic field, which is why Daimler research and development departments work hand in hand on fuel cell systems. Among other things, this enables the knowledge gained from fundamental research to quickly flow into series-production applications. The scientists and engineers involved respect the challenges they face: “We know now that the automotive industry initially underestimated the complexity involved when you
A-class F-cEll
2002
use a fuel cell and a battery in a vehicle,” says Mohrdieck. in his opinion, the problem was probably due to a lack of communication between experts in different sectors. For example, chemists were unaware of what automakers required, while vehicle experts first needed to become acquainted with the principles of electrochemistry. however, as Mohrdieck explains, over the last few years the various groups have come up with solutions that now allow high-quality electric drive systems to be produced in large unit volumes, although development costs are still too high. ATTrAcTivE SuSTAinAbiliTy Electric mobility is environmentally friendly and fun. innovation, driving enjoyment, and ecological responsibility in one vehicle — that’s what makes Peter Fröschle’s job easier. Fröschle is a technical cyberneticist and head of the Fuel Cell Market Development department at Daimler. in this capacity, he is responsible not only for fuel cell vehicle market launches but also for supporting research projects and fleet trials. “no one’s afraid of the new technology anymore,” says Fröschle, adding that customers today have a lot more faith than they used to in electric drives powered by fuel cells. While this heightened trust is in part a result of long-term preparation for the launch of fuel cell vehicle series production, according to Fröschle there’s also another reason: it’s now possible to design a fuel cell car based on hydrogen that meets the demands of today’s customers. By this he means a range of up to 400 kilometers — with just four kilograms of gaseous hydrogen in the pressurized tanks — short refueling times, and the great driving dynamics offered by modern fuel cell drive systems. But fuel cell technology must become cheaper if it’s going to establish itself over the medium term as one of the most important automotive drive systems for everything from the compact class to the premium segment, says Fröschle. higher unit volumes will accomplish a great deal here. The biggest challenge, however, lies in further optimizing the fuel cell system, according to Fröschle. This is not as difficult as it sounds because fuel cells still offer enormous potential in terms of improved output and lower costs. After all, the development opportunities are much less exhausted than is the case with the automobile technologies that have been around for more than 100 years. in any case, experts have no doubt that fuel cell technology will be with us for quite some time to come: “The opportunities for fuel cells — especially in terms of development and new market penetration — will be huge over the next ten years,” says Mohrdieck.
F 600 hygEniuS
2003
2004
2005
2006
A-class F-cEll Advanced
2007
Fleet test under normal everyday conditions
citaro F-cEll
2010 Market launch
Sprinter F-cEll
citaro FuelcEll-hybrid
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Fuel cell SyStem ThE MErcEdES-bEnz b-clASS F-cEll
The lithium-ion battery not only stores electrical energy from the fuel cell system and from regenerative braking, but also provides support during acceleration. The electric motor drives the vehicle via the front axle. it gets its energy from the fuel cell stack and the battery.
hydrogen tanks store hydrogen in special pressurized gas containers at approx. 700 bars. The fuel cell stack consists of fuel cells arranged on top of one another. hydrogen reacts with oxygen from the air in each cell to produce an electric current.
The hydrogen tanks and all key components are housed
Mercedes-benz b-class F-cEll facts and figures
in the sandwich floor below the passenger compartment in the
• Maximum output: 100 kW
B-Class F-CEll. The additional high-voltage battery is located
• Torque: 290 nm
in the trunk. The electric motor and cooling unit are mounted
• range: approx. 400 km
in the engine compartment. The B-Class F-CEll can travel an
• Fuel consumption (diesel equivalent): 3.3 l/100 km
impressive 400 kilometers on a full tank of hydrogen.
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FuEL CELL CoMpEtEnCE nEtwork and FLEEt triaLS on Four ContinEntS (1994–2010)
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u.S., washington. Funding provider: Department of energy (Doe) program: Fuel cell Vehicle & Hydrogen Infrastructure Demonstration & Validation Program kamenz. Li‑tec Battery gmbH Development and production of battery cells deutsche accumotive gmbH & Co. kg Production of cell modules and lithium-ion batteries
1|Sindelfingen, 2|rastatt, 3|Mannheim. daimler ag Vehicle development and production
gErMany, Berlin. Funding provider: German Ministry of Transport, Building and urban Development program: National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel cell Technology (NIP) SingaporE.
nabern. • nuCellSys gmbH Development/production of a fuel cell system • daimler ag (Fuel Cell & Battery drive development, group research & advanced Engineering) Fuel cell, battery-electric vehicle powertrain • deutsche accumotive gmbH & Co. kg Development of a lithium-ion battery
auStraLia, perth.
H2 MOBILITY (Germany) • Major industrial companies are drawing up a plan for the establishment of a full coverage hydrogen infrastructure • until end of 2011: Planned expansion of the H2 filling station network • Leading automotive companies are also working on the commercialization of electric vehicles equipped with fuel cell drives CALIFORNIA HYDROGEN HIGHWAY (U.S.) • cooperation between automakers, energy utilities, and authorities within the california Fuel cell Partnership (cAFcP) • Provision of funding by the california authorities (cArB, cec) for the establishment of approximately 20 H2 filling stations
dEMonStration proJECtS u.S. Hydrogen to the Highways, california aSia HyFLEEt:CutE China, Beijing Sinergy EdB project, Singapore Japanese Hydrogen and Fuel Cell | HyFLEEt:CutE, London, program (JHFC), Tokyo auStraLia HyFLEEt:CutE perth, Perth EuropE zero regio project, Frankfurt a. M. and Mantova (Italy) | H2movesScandinavia, oslo | Clean Hydrogen in European Cities (CHiC), various cities in europe Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Luxemburg, Hamburg, Berlin, reykjavík | Clean Energy partnership (CEp), Berlin, Hamburg = completed
MarkEt tEStS: FLEEt triaLS For MErCEdES‑BEnz F‑CELL vEHiCLES (1994–2009)
60 F‑CELL vehicles driven by customers
36 buses in Europe, australia, and China
3 Sprinters in Europe and the u.S.
Distance driven: approx. 2,050,000 km
Distance driven: approx. 2,120,000 km
Distance driven: approx. 64,000 km
Total hours of operation: approx. 60,000
Total hours of operation: approx. 139,000
Total hours of operation: approx. 2,400
Source: Daimler AG
rEady For MarkEt: tHE CurrEnt rangE oF MErCEdES‑BEnz F‑CELL vEHiCLES
B‑Class F‑CELL compact, powerful, safe, and
Citaro FuelCELL‑Hybrid The quiet, economical,
HySyS Sprinter F‑CELL Daimler is underscoring
ready for everyday use. The first electric fuel cell
and emission-free Mercedes-Benz citaro FuelceLL-
the importance of alternative drives for the trans-
passenger car from Daimler manufactured under
Hybrid makes city life more pleasant. In 139,000
port sector with the HySyS Sprinter. The electric fuel
series production conditions. In early 2010, Daimler
hours of operation since 2003, 36 Mercedes-Benz
cell van, which was developed on the basis of the
began delivering the first B-class F-ceLL models
citaro buses equipped with fuel cells have covered
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter minibus, has an extremely
to customers in europe and the u.S.
more than two million kilometers on three continents.
efficient drive system.
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Infrastructure In order to ensure a flexible, demand-oriented supply of energy based on hydrogen, it will be necessary to establish an efficient infrastructure. But where will the hydrogen come from? THE HYDROGEN NETWORK Hydrogen offers the best development potential for use as fuel in those areas where the establishment of a supply infrastructure is both logical and feasible. In other words, it all has to start in major metropolitan areas. This plausible conclusion also emerged from a study entitled “Where Will the Hydrogen in Germany Come from by 2050?” The goal of the study, which was published in 2009 as the final report for the “GermanHy” project, was to draw up a hydrogen road map for Germany while taking into account factors such as resource availability, energy efficiency, costs, carbon dioxide (CO2 ) reduction potential, and import dependency. The report also examined the prospects for making hydrogen available as an energy carrier in Germany between now and 2050. The study concluded that hydrogen offers tremendous potential as a fuel. According to one of the scenarios examined, hydrogen could cover 40 percent of Germany’s total energy requirement in the transport sector by 2050. The two other scenarios that were also examined assumed that hydrogen would account for up to 23 percent of energy production in this sector. The researchers who came up with the scenarios assumed a pattern of distributed demand when making their forecasts. This presupposes the rapid expansion of the filling station infrastructure with low utilization at the beginning, followed by a rapid initial increase in demand in large metropolitan areas and along major highway routes. However, the authors of the study also pointed out that hydrogen must also become available in less densely populated regions if there is to be widespread acceptance of fuel cell drive.
“The technical standard is in place; now we have to build an infrastructure suitable for the market.” Markus BacHMEIER Head of Hydrogen Solutions, The Linde Group
Whether in the city or the country — the question is the same: How will hydrogen get to filling stations in the future? Will it flow through pipelines, be produced locally, or delivered by tank trucks? Several possible answers to this question will be offered in the near future. After all, there won’t be just one type of hydrogen infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles and other energy consumers. Instead, it’s more likely that infrastructure networks will rapidly develop parallel to one another in terms of technology and scope, whereby each will employ the most efficient solution for its specific requirements. This situation would offer a great opportunity because it would result in the development of different technical solutions for different requirements and locations. However, the refueling processes and the interfaces between the refueling station and the vehicle will need to be standardized. This 50
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objective has actually already been achieved with fueling pumps and a newly developed refueling technology, both of which operate in accordance with the most recent SAE standards (J2601, et al.). “The technical standard is in place; now we have to build an infrastructure suitable for the market,” says Markus Bachmeier from Linde, a company that specializes in engineering and gas technology. The company also develops the key components for modern H2 refueling stations. However, Linde is also active along the entire hydrogen value chain — from production with techniques based on conventional or renewable energy sources all the way to logistics and storage systems. According to Bachmeier, hydrogen filling stations will mainly be supplied by tank trucks with liquid or gaseous hydrogen over the next few years. This is the delivery method used for one of the most modern H2 filling stations in Europe, which TOTAL opened in May 2010 in Berlin with the help of Linde and Statoil. The station is supplied with liquid hydrogen from the Linde production facility in Leuna. It stores the hydrogen on site in a highly insulated tank.
“Hydrogen makes energy as flexible as digital resources.” Jeremy RIFKIN Sociologist, economist and President of the Foundation of Economic Trends (FOET)
Hydrogen can also be produced onsite, of course. This can be done either with a steam reformer that makes hydrogen from natural gas or biogas, or with an electrolyzer, which produces hydrogen using electricity from conventional or renewable, fluctuating energy sources. The hydrogen is then compressed onsite and stored under high pressure. Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends (FOET) and an influential early proponent of a hydrogen-based economy, believes hydrogen offers an ideal solution for problems associated with the flexible storage of energy from renewable sources. At the same time, such a solution would ensure optimal energy availability (see interview on page 54).
It could serve as a role model, especially for countries that have yet to establish a hydrogen infrastructure. Germany, on the other hand, is by no means starting from scratch when it comes to networks for supplying automobiles with H2, says Bachmeier: “Germany and many other industrialized countries have had major industrial hydrogen infrastructure systems for some time now — and the filling station infrastructure to be established will benefit as a result.” Nevertheless, setting up this infrastructure will require close cooperation between partners from the automotive industry; the energy, chemical, and plant-equipment manufacturing sectors; and public transport companies. WaTER, WIND, aND INDEpENDENcE The best example of such a partnership in Germany is the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) project established in 2002, which among other things led to the construction and operation of the TOTAL H2 filling station in Berlin. The CEP is part of the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell TechT
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Phases of hydrogen
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Ch2 + lh2 range: 250 km Tank system pressure: 350 bars Co2 emissions: 0.0 g/km
range: more than 300 km Tank system pressure: 350 bars Co2 emissions: 0.0 g/km
range: 400 km Tank system pressure: 700 bars Co2 emissions: 0.0 g/km
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soUrCEs: The linde Group, Daimler AG
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h2 reFueling hydrogen refueling is like filling up conventionally with gasoline: The pump nozzle is manually connected to the filler pipe via a special coupling that offers sealed protection against pressure, gas, and cold.
The latching handle latches the filling coupling onto the vehicle’s filling port.
The sliding sleeve is inserted into the tank socket. The inside of the sleeve contains a collet chuck mechanism that latches onto the connector in the vehicle.
The easy-turn rotary joint turns the filling coupling despite the often rigid filling hose.
The infrared data interface receives data from the vehicle on parameters such as pressure/temperature inside the vehicle, as well as an abort signal in the event of an error.
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nology (niP). The partnership’s goal is to test and demonstrate that hydrogen powered vehicles and the associated infrastructure are suitable for everyday use. The CEP is an international consortium made up of the following 13 companies: the automakers BMW, Daimler, Ford, GM/opel, Toyota, and VW; the energy companies linde, shell, statoil, Total, and Vattenfall; and the public transport operating companies in Berlin and hamburg. The niP was established by noW Gmbh (national organization hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology). The CEP was joined in september 2009 by the h2 Mobility initiative — a joint project being carried out by Daimler, EnBW, linde, oMV, shell, Total, and Vattenfall, with noW Gmbh serving as a neutral “moderator.” The initiative’s goal is to establish a hydrogen infrastructure — first in Germany, later in other European countries, whereby expansion will take the prevailing conditions in these countries into account. The initiative agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) calls for a twophase process in which experts will analyze the various possibilities for establishing a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure in Germany in order to support the launch of series production of electric vehicles equipped with fuel cells. in september 2009, the automakers Daimler, Ford, GM/opel, honda, hyundai/kia, renault/nissan, and Toyota also signed a letter of Understanding covering the development and commercial market launch of fuel cell vehicles beginning in 2015. This is very important because the only way the new drive system can be successful is if a nationwide infrastructure with comprehensive coverage is already in place when fuel cell vehicles are introduced to the market. in order to support supply network construction and expansion throughout Europe as well, a study on the potential offered by hydrogen and fuel cell technology was conducted in 2010 by 30 renowned companies from various sectors (automobile manufacturers and suppliers, oil and gas companies, energy companies, and public organizations). The promising results will be used to support the gradual expansion of the supply network in Europe. similar efforts to gradually introduce a hydrogen infrastructure are now also being made in the U.s. and Japan. STEP by STEP The CEP project is also divided into several stages. Currently under way is Phase 2, which involves developing the key technologies to the point where they are sufficiently mature for series production, and making fundamental investments in the infrastructure. The third and final project phase, which will begin in 2011 and run until 2016, is intended to help reduce the cost of supplying hydrogen and manufacturing the vehicles, increase the proportion of electricity that is produced using hydrogen from renewable sources, and expand the hydrogen network beyond Germany. obtaining hydrogen from renewable energy sources is both an environmental and economic policy goal because hydrogen gas produced in a sustainable manner makes mobility in industrialized nations independent of imported fossil fuels like petroleum and natural gas. in addition, electrolysis can decouple ecological electricity production, which depends on natural factors, from the consumers’ demand for such energy. here, hydrogen serves as a storage medium that can be used in fuel cells to generate power as and when required. in october 2011, the world’s first Co2-neutral fueling station will go into operation in the German capital, Berlin. The public ToTAl facility, which will be located at the site of the future Berlin-Brandenburg international Airport, will provide a glimpse of what an independent filling station of the future might look like. Along with other fuels, the station will also offer hydrogen gas at a pressure of either
350 or 700 bars, depending on the customer’s requirements. The key to the Co2-neutral operation of the facility lies in the electricity it uses, which will be generated by EnErTrAG at a wind park near the airport. The wind park has 40 wind turbines with a total output of up to 200 gigawatt-hours. The energy it generates will operate an onsite electrolyzer that produces hydrogen. The gas will be stored and then fed into pumps that will transfer it to fuel cell vehicles. Germany has already begun to take measures that will allow a relevant portion of individual and collective mobility to be accommodated in the near future by vehicles equipped with fuel cell drives. At the World hydrogen Energy Conference (WhEC), which took place in Essen in 2010, politicians and business leaders underscored their intention to launch mass production of this new technology by 2015. And the WhEC, the world’s most important expert conference on hydrogen, sent out another important message: supporting hydrogen and fuel cell-based mobility will open up new possibilities for a whole range of other applications. These include local and regional trains in metropolitan areas around the world, auxiliary turbines in modern passenger planes, and the supply of electricity and heat to buildings of varying designs and sizes. TAPPing inTo nEW SourcES Today’s hydrogen infrastructure is a growing and constantly changing system — both in terms of the logistics for the fuel and its production. That’s because along with industrial steam reforming and electrolysis, there are also other ways to manufacture hydrogen gas. The linde Group, for example, has developed a process that will allow Co2-neutral production of hydrogen from raw glycerine in the future. raw glycerine — a byproduct of biodiesel production — has a high hydrogen content. scientists and engineers are now also developing other techniques for producing hydrogen from biomass. regardless of the production technique, the result is always the same: The only emission from electric cars powered by a fuel cell is water in vapor form. And that provides a neat link to Germany’s next major project in relation to a hydrogen supply network. The largest h2 fueling station in Europe is currently being constructed by Vattenfall right next to the waterfront — in hamburg’s ultramodern hafenCity district.
HYPERLINK You’ll find further information about this article at:
daimler-technicity.com/fuelcell including the following features: • inTErviEW is hydrogen the key to the third industrial revolution? A conversation with Jeremy riFkin, founder and President of the Foundation on Economic Trends (FoET) • bAcKground The h2 solution: handling hydrogen safely • bAcKground Funding and supporting fuel cells: The e-mobility initiative • PhoTo gAllEry Fuel cell stack production in Vancouver, Canada
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Jeremy riFKin hydrogen and fuel cell technology are crucial pillars on which a third industrial revolution will be based. This is the opinion held by Jeremy riFkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends (FoET) and one of the most influential intellectuals in the U.s.
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Mr. Rifkin, is hydrogen the key to the third Industrial Revolution? hydrogen technology is one of several keys. in my opinion, it’s one of the five pillars on which the third industrial revolution will be based. Without hydrogen and fuel cells, we will not be able to take the steps that are necessary to establish a sustainable energy system and new economic structures. however, this technology can only be viewed in conjunction with other factors. The first of the five pillars is the generation of energy from renewable sources. The second pillar is a structural transformation that will ultimately result in energy production in buildings. hydrogen as an energy source and a storage medium is the third pillar, and the fourth is the intelligent networking of energy flows. Finally, the fifth pillar is mobility with sustainable drive systems like those that utilize fuel cells. As you can see, none of these aspects can be considered completely independently of the others. it all adds up to an interactive system without any stand-alone solutions. Such a fundamental transformation requires a new attitude toward hydrogen technology. Are we ready for that? i think so. Consider the political aspect: Germany began pushing for the funding of hydrogen technology at a very early stage of the game, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated her intention to strongly promote the third industrial revolution. The situation is now similar throughout the entire EU and in other countries around the world. But Germany has a head start here, and i believe it could spearhead the third industrial revolution in the years ahead. German industry has also recognized the importance of this issue — and here i’m thinking about companies like Daimler, linde, and rWE. How has European hydrogen policy developed over the past ten years? A very important development is that people are now asking how energy from new sources can be stored in the future. This question arises because the output of solar, hydro, and wind power facilities fluctuates constantly. it will be very difficult to compensate for such fluctuations if you don’t have efficient storage media. For example, what’s going to happen when you get several cloudy days with no wind, and low water levels? We discussed this issue extensively in 2003, when i served as an advisor to the European Union. The EU responded by launching a € 2 billion research and development program.
What technology do you think should be used to make this energy storage possible? hydrogen is the solution to this problem. This molecular element can be found in abundance throughout the entire universe. Depending on the amount of energy that’s available, gaseous hydrogen can be produced locally as an energy storage medium and also be easily stored. When used in fuel cells, for example, it will be converted back into electricity as needed. in view of the huge advantages offered by such a modular and decentralized energy system, the argument that double conversion from electricity to hydrogen and back to electricity is not efficient makes no sense. if you look at the traditional power grid with its centralized production and rigid structures and then compare it with the flexible networks of distributed power systems, you’ll immediately see the benefits offered by this new form of energy supply. of course, depending on the application in question, other technologies will be used along with hydrogen as storage media. These include batteries, super capacitors, and flywheels. however, only hydrogen can make energy availability so flexible that we can use energy like a digital resource. A battery, on the other hand, can never provide such a high level of access. A completely new fuel supply infrastructure will have to be built so that fuel cell vehicles can ultimately establish themselves on a broad scale. How fast can people adapt to the new network? The supply network for hydrogen will be fundamentally different from the old infrastructure for fossil fuels. The historical development of oil and gas supply networks has led to exclusively linear structures with a central producer and numerous customers. The hierarchy in the hydrogen economy will be completely different, because in the future this fuel will primarily be produced locally. This will result in the creation of a differentiated network of producers and consumers — and that will also be true of the power grid in the near future. such networks can be controlled in a manner similar to the processes we see on the internet, which is why i like to call them “intergrids.” Today’s users of digital data and communication networks in particular will provide the expertise that is needed to deal with such complex energy networks. DAiMlEr-TEChniCiTy.CoM
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You talk about buildings and mobility systems as being key segments for the utilization of new types of energy. What effect will this have on the future of conventional energy sources, particularly fossil fuels? Fuel cell cars that emit only water vapor, and buildings with positive energy balances, are two applications that will herald the demise of the conventional technologies of the last half of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century. At the same time, it’s obvious that we can’t simply abandon the technologies of the second industrial revolution — the age of oil — from one day to the next. The important thing is that production systems, infrastructure, and consumption patterns must be continually adapted over the next 20 years to conform to the new technologies. This also applies to structures in the economy. For 100 years, there was a strong and close relationship between the automotive and oil industries. now automakers are establishing new ties to energy and technology companies from other sectors. The rollout of series-produced fuel cell vehicles will rapidly accelerate the establishment of these new connections and strengthen visionary partnerships such as “h2 Mobility.” Will we experience a transformation of the way we use hydrogen? such a development is already fully under way. Today’s consumers are no longer afraid to become players in the energy economy — and that’s exactly what the decentralized and individual production and distribution of energy is all about.
CURRICULUM vITaE 65 years old +++ sociologist, economist, and author +++ Founder and president of the Foundation of Economic Trends (FoET) +++ Founder of the theory of the “access society” +++ Advisor to the European Commission and various governments +++ Author of 17 books on scientific and technological transformation +++ Columnist for newspapers including “The Guardian” and “The los Angeles Times” +++ his book “The hydrogen Economy” spurred the debate about the transition to a hydrogen economy +++ lecturer at the Wharton school of Business (University of Pennsylvania) +++ named one of the 150 most influential intellectuals in the U.s. by the “national Journal” +++
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METROPOLIS
NEW YORK The “capital of the world” is working hard to defend its exceptional status. It’s leading the pack in terms of local public transportation, with the world’s largest fleet of hybrid buses.
PARAMETERS NEW YORK * STATUS: Most populous city in the U.S. YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1624 AREA: 1,214 km² POPULATION (city): >8 million POPULATION (metropolitan region): 19.5 million POPULATION DENSITY (city): 10,606 inhabitants/km² WEBSITE: nyc.gov
CANADA Chicago
U.S.
Boston NEW YORK
Austin MEXICO
Miami Mexico City
CUBA
COMMUNITY New York City is entering into a competition with Silicon Valley, the U.S. hightech center. The municipal government and capital investors are luring engineers and inventors to the city by offering them subsidized office space and other startup assistance. The promising new companies include: • the mobile services provider Foursquare, where several million smartphone users are already logging in regularly; • Etsy, the booming online bazaar for amateur craftspeople; and • Kickstarter, where thousands of artists are finding private patrons. In addition to the municipal government, startup assistance is also being offered by a handful of new private patrons, including betaworks and New York University. NYU, whose campus is located in southern Manhattan, has set up its own “incubator” for nurturing new enterprises. Thanks to this support from NYU, a total 28 startups have already established themselves here within a year. MOBILITY The world’s largest fleet of hybrid buses in a local public transportation network is operating in New York City and its environs, and it is steadily growing. Almost 1,700 dieselelectric buses are currently helping to transport more than six million passengers a day under the banner of the Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) and its subcontractors. Almost all of the hybrid buses used on the bus routes, which cover more than 6,000 kilometers in all, are Orion International brand vehicles manufactured by Daimler Buses North America. More than 1,000 Orion VII buses have been delivered to the state of New York between 2008 and 2010. An additional 132 Orion VII buses will be delivered this year. daimler-technicity.com/citiesandnetworks
* SOURCE: US Census Bureau
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FROM THE CITY TO THE POOL OF IDEAS: INNOVATIONS FROM FOUR MAJOR CITIES.
BARCELONA This coastal city is focusing on carefully thought-out development projects ranging from model car-sharing projects to a new BRT system and an expanded “green lung.”
PARAMETERS BARCELONA * STATUS: Spain’s second-largest city and the capital of Catalonia YEAR ESTABLISHED: circa 300 B.C.
MOBILITY Barcelona has set itself some ambitious goals for its local public transportation system. The transportation operator Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) now includes • 1,080 buses • that cover 108 routes with a total length of 923.92 kilometers. • A total of 11% of the buses run on biodiesel and 27 % on natural gas. The most sophisticated buses in the fleet are Mercedes-Benz Citaro urban buses. The first models already began operating in Barcelona in 2003. TMB has now decided to retrofit the remaining diesel buses with hybrid drive systems. In addition, the first three lines of the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, called RetBus, will go into operation in early 2011. That will make the bus connections in this Catalonian coastal city even simpler and more efficient.
AREA: 101.4 km2 POPULATION (city): >1.6 million POPULATION (metropolitan region): >5 million POPULATION DENSITY (city): 15,991 inhabitants/km2 WEBSITE: bcn.cat
FRANCE Lyon
BARCELONA Madrid
SPAIN PORTUGAL
Valencia
ITALY
URBAN DEVELOPMENT In Barcelona, the trend toward “greener” cities is increasingly taking place high above the inhabitants’ heads. There are now about 3.5 hectares of green areas on the roofs of the metropolis, and the potential seems to be far from exhausted. An estimated 100 hectares of green area could be used in the future to save energy (by insulating buildings) and improve air quality and biodiversity — not to mention the enhanced Mediterranean flair. Façades would offer an additional 24 hectares of space. The city government, which recently ordered the “greening” of municipal institutions such as the Biblioteca Zona Norte, has now selected an additional 64 hectares on the roofs of public buildings to be covered with plants. daimler-technicity.com/citiesandnetworks
* SOURCE: Insituto Nacional de Estadística, Demografía
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METROPOLIS
HELSINKI Everyone’s talking about smart grids, but this small metropolis is building one. Its old fishing port is becoming an experimental laboratory for the energy sector.
PARAMETERS HELSINKI * STATUS: Capital of Finland YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1550 AREA: 213 km² POPULATION (city): >570,000 POPULATION (metropolitan region): 1.3 million POPULATION DENSITY (city): 2,707 inhabitants/km² WEBSITE: hel.fi
SWEDEN
FINLAND
NORWAY
HELSINKI Oslo
Stockholm
Riga
DENMARK
Berlin
Warsaw
RUSSIA
ENERGY A new neighborhood is taking shape in the heart of Helsinki. In a project similar to one that is being implemented in the Hafencity area of Hamburg, the Finns are transforming a port area near the city center into a residential and office district. Plans call for the old fishing port of Kalasatama to eventually house 15,000 people. These Helsinki residents will get their electricity via their own local smart grid. ABB, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Helsingin Energia are planning to equip the network with demand-response systems that flexibly adjust local electricity production to match demand. The inhabitants of the new neighborhood will enjoy dynamic electricity rates as well as bonus payments if they reduce their energy consumption during periods of peak use. “As is the case with cellular networks, the new smart grid technology paves the way for the introduction of innovative consumer services. New customer-centered services and real-time electric metering will enable the people in the neighborhood to actively participate in the system,” says Jaakko Aho, Head of Energy Solutions, Nokia Siemens Networks. MOBILITY Winter in Finland means ice, snowstorms, and difficult terrain. These are ideal conditions for the Zetros long-nose truck with a 6 x 6 drive. The electricity network specialist Eltel incorporated its first Zetros truck into its fleet at the beginning of this year. The three-axle truck will be used to construct and repair overhead power lines. For this purpose, it is fitted with a telescopic crane that can be extended for up to 30 meters. daimler-technicity.com/citiesandnetworks
* SOURCE: Statistical Yearbook of the City of Helsinki
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SHANGHAI Expo 2010 has made Shanghai China’s most appealing megacity. But even after Expo, the world is still paying a lot of attention to this conurbation on the Yangtze River.
PARAMETERS SHANGHAI * STATUS: Business and financial metropolis in eastern China ESTABLISHED: 5th–7th centuries AREA: 6,340 km² POPULATION (municipality): >14 million POPULATION (metropolitan region): >19 million POPULATION DENSITY (municipality): 2,978 inhabitants/km² WEBSITE: shanghai.gov.cn
MONGOLIA NORTH KOREA Beijing SOUTH KOREA
CHINA SHANGHAI
Hong Kong
TAIWAN
JAPAN
CULTURE Shanghai will benefit for a long time to come from its role as the host city of Expo 2010. One of its central event venues, a futuristic arena on the banks of the Huangpu River that was completed just in time for the world’s fair, will be renamed Mercedes-Benz Arena next year. With its 18,000 seats, it offers enough space for major events that will help to accommodate the increasing demand among urban Chinese for art, culture, sports, and entertainment. Mercedes-Benz’ sponsorship of the arena, which will last for ten years, will be the first time that China has accepted a foreign company as the name-giver and sponsor of one of its high-prestige buildings. ARCHITECTURE Shanghai’s famous landmark, the television tower called the Oriental Pearl Tower, is now 15 years old. It will soon be literally overshadowed by a new mega-skyscraper: Gensler’s Shanghai Tower, which will be the world’s second-highest building when it is finished in 2014. It will have • 128 stories, • a height of 632 meters, and • nine cylindrical structures stacked on top of one another. They will be enveloped by a kind of “skin,” and after construction is completed the building in its entirety will resemble a coiled dragon. With this building, Shanghai will continue its tradition of having Western architectural firms build its skyscrapers. However, this time architects and designers from Tongji University will participate in the planning process. daimler-technicity.com/citiesandnetworks
* SOURCE: Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau
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POSItION TexT
PhoTograPhy
Peter Thomas
Kurt hENsELER
Christian hahner 125! Years of Innovation — a state-of-the-art patent management system forms the visionary horizon of a company and serves to maintain its dynamic innovative capability. a talk with Christian hahNER, head of Intellectual Property & Technology management at Daimler.
CURRICULUM vItae +++ Born in 1968 in stuttgart +++ studied business administration (technical focus) +++ Joined Daimler as a trainee +++ Development Project Planning a-Class +++ head of Project Planning Basic Vehicle +++ Doctoral dissertation on a hybrid drive as an example of innovation management +++ management of strategic alliance between Daimler and mitsubishi +++ head of Intellectual Property & Technology management since 2006 +++
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Mr. Hahner, although the term “patent remedy” has become part of our collective vocabulary, the adjective “patent” in the sense of “self-evident” now seems somewhat outdated. How important are patents today at the beginning of the 21st century? The meaning and the public perception of this concept are diverging these days. a patent is still primarily viewed as a way of protecting an innovation through a ban on its use by outside parties, even though the patent should actually stand for the innovation itself. Ultimately, patents reflect the inventive achievements in research and development. We need to be more open with this resource and use it as a foundation for the exchange of knowledge. Today we’re trying to get away from utilizing patents solely to prevent others from working with the associated technologies. What would be an alternative? When I make an innovation public in Germany by initially registering a patent, I’m actually defining the state of the art. It then becomes impossible for anyone else in the world to patent that innovation. Even if we decide not to register the patent in other countries, our initial registration still documents our technological and innovative leadership. The publication of the patent also creates conditions that enable the worldwide utilization of innovations with great value to society — like those related to vehicle safety, for example. Are such considerations one of the major challenges in modern patent management? The biggest challenge is to continually analyze the current state of technology together with engineers and technicians. We use the knowledge we gain to identify the fields in which we seek to maintain and expand our technology leadership. For my department, that means cooperation more than anything else. specifically, the patent people need to get out and talk to researchers and developers. Are the demands associated with the work of the Intellectual Property & Technology Management department at Daimler the same as those faced by companies in other industries? automotive patents are a very specific field. after all, we’re dealing here with a very complex product that incorporates many different types of technologies. It’s quite common for a single vehicle to utilize 100 patents. In the pharmaceutical industry, by contrast, a patented pharmaceutical agent can be the product itself. on the other hand, basic patents, like those taken out on entire vehicles 125 years ago, are practically unimaginable these days. still, the automotive industry is now
adopting an approach to patents that other sectors will most certainly follow — namely, utilizing patents as a basis for cooperation and networks. That’s the future of innovation management. Can the work you do today even be compared with what was going on when Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz registered their patents? That’s definitely not the case for automobiles with combustion engines, because patents back then were visionary in their scope, and we can no longer expect to see anything like that today. But I do see parallels between the open field of automotive engineering 125 years ago and the current development of alternative drive systems for battery and fuel cell-powered vehicles, for example. In the area of battery technology in particular, the number of key patents being registered worldwide is greatly increasing. The technical innovations we’re seeing in the field of high-tech drive systems are in areas that were never before considered for automotive applications, which means they’re not protected. What proportion of patented developments is actually incorporated into automotive series production? I can’t give you any absolute numbers on that. Basically, a strong patent requires an extensive portfolio around it. at the moment we’re paying approximately 2,600 inventors for the right to use their innovations in our products — and Daimler employees are now coming up with more inventions than ever before in the company’s history. We registered 2,000 patents last year, which puts us in second place behind siemens in the German patent registration rankings. What exactly are you protecting here? That varies greatly, and it also depends heavily on the technology strategy being employed in the area where the innovation is developed. attaining international patent protection is an expensive undertaking. If we believe it’s important for our business to actively defend our patent in court in order to prevent unauthorized copies or imitations, then we have to nationalize the patent, which makes it valid in other countries. Do you have a favorite patent at the moment? These days, I’m very excited about the potential for battery technology in the automotive industry. New applications have suddenly transformed a historical phenomenon into a highly topical issue. The associated innovations and their patents offer the potential to keep value creation here in Germany, because this is the place where new ideas for future mobility are being generated.
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Rüdiger Abele
The New Lightness New materials and design principles for improving energy efficiency
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From tennis rackets to bicycles and Formula 1 racecars — the principle of lightweight design is being applied more and more consistently in state-of-the-art technology products. The ultimate goal in every case is to enhance resource efficiency in production and use. At the same time, the applied philosophy of this material strategy is also creating a completely new feeling for those who use the associated technologies.
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ou could almost call it a new natural law: The larger the number of people on planet Earth, the lighter the products become that these people use. Bicycles are now made out of aluminum rather than steel, suitcases out of plastic instead of leather. Running shoes are fitted with a foam core on the bottom and netting on top. No matter what economic sector you look at — every gram of weight is viewed critically. The goal here is to consistently achieve the highest level of energy efficiency possible, which also frequently improves cost efficiency. The energy expended on the goal to be achieved must be as low as possible. Alternatively, a set amount of energy must result in the highest possible output or range. There’s nothing really new about all this, as efficiency has
been a focus of many technical undertakings for a long time. Nevertheless, resource scarcity and climate change are now making energy efficiency increasingly important. New design principles and materials are therefore required — and the automotive industry is once again leading the way. That’s because energy efficiency holds the key to achieving two important industry objectives: lower carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles with combustion engines, and a greater range for electric cars. The numbers speak for themselves, as reducing the weight of a vehicle by 100 kilograms lowers fuel consumption by between 0.3 and 0.5 liters per 100 kilometers, depending on driving style. This reduction corresponds to eight to ten grams less carbon dioxide emitted per kilometer.
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Carbon fibers are very light but also extremely strong. industrially produced fibers made from carbon have a graphite-like structure (see illustration) and can be processed into plastic components.
Carbon ClassifiCation: ďƒ” non-metals Shell model Carbon
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The shell model describes the characteristic electron shells of atoms in relation to the nucleus. The structure of the electron shells largely determines the chemical and physical properties of the atom in question.
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Chapter I the challenge:
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Or why and when lightweight product design is necessary and useful
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ightweight construction is not difficult. outstanding materials are already out there, as are outstanding ideas. letting both flow freely would result in the lightest products ever seen — products that would make all automotive dreams come true. There would be just one catch, however: their prices. That’s because extremely lightweight constructions cost a tremendous amount of money, which is why they’re used mostly in applications where the ends justify nearly any financial means, so to speak. high-performance sports and the aerospace sector immediately come to mind here. Still, even these areas have their cost ceilings. lightweight design is also becoming more prevalent throughout the automotive industry. first of all, it’s necessary — in order to build more fuel-efficient vehicles, for example. Secondly, it’s becoming more affordable. for example, it will soon be possible to reduce the price of the expensive carbon fibers used in space flights from some € 3,000 per kilo to around € 30. Engineers are also increasingly mastering the design principles required for cost-effective mass production. finally there are the customers, who ultimately drive any development. The sectors of high-performance sports and aerospace mentioned above have repeatedly served as key sources for innovative processes and material concepts. These sectors have experience with low unit volumes and low cost pressures, and this experience later flows into large-scale production series. fiber-reinforced plastics already account for 20 percent of the structural weight of the Airbus A380 aircraft, for example, and 20 different types of carbon fiber fabrics are now used for formula 1 racecars.
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Chapter II targeted material utilization:
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Or the various ways to achieve the new lightness
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his raises the question of how one can achieve low product weight. Stefan Kienzle is a specialist in this area. Among other things, the head of Research and Advanced Development for lightweight Body-in-White and Drive System components at Daimler is responsible for making future vehicles lighter without sacrificing comfort or generating substantially higher costs. for both passenger cars and trucks, this means focusing on the areas of vehicle exteriors, bodyshells, interiors, powertrains, and all of their component parts. here, every detail is examined with regard to its weightreduction potential. Kienzle formulates the objective
in an incredibly simple manner: “it’s all about using the right material in the right place.” There are three levers here: skilful material selection, proper component design, and appropriate manufacturing techniques. The right material mix is important because not every material is suitable for every component. for example, carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (cfRp) may be 50 percent lighter than steel and 30 percent lighter than aluminum, but they cannot be used in every area. metals, especially aluminum, are used for engines and transmissions, for example, because these units must meet specialized heat and friction resistance requirements. magnesium offers an alternative here, but although it weighs less than other metals, it’s more difficult to process in production. mercedes-Benz is a pioneer in the use of carbon fiber composites in automotive manufacturing. Such composites were used in the series production of entire vehicles as early as 2004 in the SlR mclaren high-performance sports car. That vehicle’s whole body is made of cfRp, which makes the body as much as 30 percent lighter than a comparable aluminum structure, even though it’s much more rigid.
The goal is to develop the best possible CFRP components for use in large-scale automotive production. Skilful material selection also involves targeted material development geared toward preserving special properties. This is new territory for cfRp because as far as road vehicles are concerned, these materials need to meet different types of requirements than is the case in the aerospace industry, for example. There are also a vast range of options for arranging the fibers in the components. To ensure rapid and targeted establishment of expertise in this area, Daimler recently launched a development partnership with Toray industries, inc., the world’s leading supplier of fibers. The goal of this cooperation is to develop the best possible cfRp components for use in large-scale automotive production. Designers must have a concept for using each material in the right way and in the right place if an optimal result is to be achieved. for example, a support structure made of cfRp has to be designed differently than one made of steel or aluminum. Designers thus utilize the appropriate approach to attain the desired result. Engineers are constantly on the lookout for the perfect solution. An excellent example of an extremely detailed engineering solution is offered by the mercedes-Benz “bionic car” research vehicle, which was presented in 2005 and is modeled on the boxfish that lives in tropical waters. The “bionic car” not only boasts an extremely streamlined shape but also a lightweight design concept inspired by the boxfish. The various measures employed for this vehicle add up to extremely low fuel consumption of 4.3 liters per 100 kilometers, despite the car’s largely unmodified
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The polymer lignin can be found in every plant. Although its properties are similar to those of wood, it can be used in a much greater variety of ways. for example, lignin is used in lightweight construction as a filler and binding agent to make plastics firmer.
Lignin ClassifiCation: Polymer
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production diesel engine. When traveling at a constant 90 kilometers per hour, the bionic car’s fuel consumption actually falls to just 2.8 liters per 100 kilometers. Appropriate manufacturing techniques: New materials require new production processes which must also be suitable for the large unit volumes of mass production. pioneering accomplishments are being made here to enable automated production, with the key requirement being to reduce the cost of manufacturing large volumes. Daimler engineers are now figuring out how to do this. The engineers have already answered many other questions, however, such as how to incorporate lighter components into conventional steel structures. one proven solution is laser welding, which is now being used for several model series. With laser welding, metal panels are precisely butt-welded. This means materials for flanges no longer have to be added, which leads to lighter bodies and body-in-white structures that can also be produced at reasonable cost.
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Chapter III the allure of something new: Or how lightweight design can be directly experienced in products
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ew materials are now often used for purely functional requirements, which means they remain unseen in the associated products. however, they are employed on visible surfaces as well — like in vehicle interiors, where they actually conjure up a feeling of lightness. These uses will change design concepts. The interior of the f800 Style research vehicle provides an idea of possible things to come. its partially transparent roof bathes the interior with light, for example. The vehicle’s lightweight seats are made of a magnesium shell and have carbon fiber laminate backrests covered with highly durable netting in what is an aesthetically pleasing
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lightweight design. All wood veneer elements in the f800 Style have a strong aluminum core. They therefore not only meet typical mercedes-Benz crash-safety requirements but also lend the interior a cozy flair. The research vehicle’s instrument panel was intentionally fitted with light-colored materials and refined material extensions that make it appear as if the instrument panel were floating in front of the driver. The same can be said of the large display for the hmi cam touchpad, which also features a completely new operating concept.
The application of lightweight materials must correspond to the character of the product. Designers will most certainly find new ways to make lightweight design pleasantly visible in the production cars of tomorrow. The important thing is to have a consistent overall concept that corresponds to the character of the product. for mercedes-Benz, this could mean having the cars with the stars display a new lightness — but one achieved through a very specific strategy. At the same time, these vehicles will continue to convey a sense of solidity and reliability, as this feeling is one of the core brand messages.
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Chapter IV Brand identity in mind: Or what the lightweight design principle has to do with vehicle safety
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he engineers’ and designers’ approach to using lightweight materials outlined above doesn’t focus solely on pure functional or design requirements, but also takes brand values into account. “Brand values serve as the basis for designing products in the right manner,” Kienzle explains. for example, a key component of the mercedes-Benz brand identity is the pledge to deliver vehicles offering the highest level of safety — and this pledge also determines which new lightweight materials and associated production processes are to be used. “The components must react perfectly in the event of a crash. They need to at least lessen the severity of the resulting consequences, if not prevent such consequences to begin with, of course,” he says. New materials also open up new possibilities for safety in the future. This potential is of course being exploited to the fullest in order to manufacture real vehicles in which customers feel safe and comfortable. Some of the associated ideas have been taken from formula 1 and aviation designs, but Kienzle is keeping any further details to himself, at least for the moment. Who knows? perhaps the next mercedes-Benz research vehicle will reveal some of these secrets.
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Chapter V Just a little bit: Or how our technological environment will continue to
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s far as materials are concerned, designers and engineers already know what they will need to do in the coming years, namely make products and components lighter and lighter in order to improve energy efficiency. The computer industry has already taken a step in this direction. The trend here is cloud computing, which involves transferring one’s programs and data to a central server in the internet. Users can then gain access to their data from anywhere in the world using a terminal. Their data is still physically stored on a computer, and their own terminal is made of materials, of course. however, this terminal can be “lighter” in the physical sense of the word as well because it doesn’t require as much storage capacity. Reading devices for e-books are also contributing in a way to this phenomenon of “dematerialization,” as they eliminate paper and theoretically make entire libraries transportable. Whether you agree or disagree with such innovations — there’s no doubt that they reflect the possibilities offered by new technologies. it’s only when it comes to automobiles that people have difficulty imagining extreme dematerialization. it may happen over the next one or two centuries though, when quantum physics makes possible teleportation — the transportation of people and objects without them having to physically move across the spaces they pass through. Such developments are not expected any time in the near future, however.
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TRANSFER TexT
PHOTOGRAPHY
Steffan Heuer
Sascha PfLÄgIng
“Digital technology is moving into urban spaces.” Carlo rATTI, professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), lays out his vision of smart, “senseable” cities of tomorrow. How millions of people and billions of sensors will together shape work, play, and our transportation systems.
Carlo Ratti with author Steffan Heuer.
Professor Ratti, you are always on the go. We’ve just caught up with you before you head to the airport. Where are you going today, and what’s on your agenda? I’m flying to London to discuss a new project. We’re working with the Mayor of London to set up a project for the 2012 Olympics called The Cloud. It will be a new type of observation tower that also serves as a giant real-time information system, a barometer of the city’s mood. We plan to gather data about the population and project it onto a vast array of LeDs which are part of an assembly of large bubbles in the sky. It’s a very unusual project that will draw people in to read the data and literally climb into the cloud of data. the Cloud is one of many projects coming out of your SENSEable City Lab, which is a new department of Mit, looking at how millions of humans live and work together surrounded by technology. Can you give us an overview of what you are researching at your lab? The lab is six years old and has grown into a team of 30 to 40 people here in Cambridge, plus our new satellite lab in Singapore, where there will be ten people by the end of the year. The lab tries to come up with visions and prototypes for the cities of to-
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morrow, because we live in the urban era. China alone is building more cities than all the rest of humanity combined ever built. Last year, for the first time, the majority of the world’s population lived in cities. There is another reason for our research: Technology has become so widely distributed, so small, and so cheap that it’s a ubiquitous part of our lives like never before. Digital technology is moving into urban spaces, and we are trying to think about the interfaces between technology and humans. What can be measured with sensors and put to use for people? This shift to ubiquitous technology has important consequences for the design of spaces. You don’t just design a space for people or traffic, you design space for technology. That’s why we try to bring together the insights of many different disciplines: mathematics, physics, architecture, computer science, social science. My work takes me to cities all over the world, from Asia and Australia to europe and here in the u.S. Let’s talk about the cities of tomorrow. the only thing that brings a city to life are the people moving through it. Where and how does digital technology fit in? People are no doubt the most important component of a city. But there is an impor-
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MicRoScopE SenSATiOnAl SenSORS Since its establishment in 2004, the SenSeable City Lab has launched several dozen exciting projects that have recorded and analyzed the data flows associated with cell phones, cameras, streets, and buildings in a creative way. The aim is to provide detailed and often unexpected insights into everyday urban life. Carlo ratti and his team generally leave the practical implementation of their findings to sponsors, countries, or municipalities that want to solve a real-life problem, such as the need for improved traffic planning or the modernization of information systems. The futuristic measurement technology covers a wide range of applications. They include monitoring traffic flows in rome, managing tsunami-safe houses and a mobile early warning system in Sri Lanka, networking garbage piles in new York, and robotic insects that act as an LeD swarm and write messages in the sky. senseable.mit.edu
tant change happening all around us. Technology is spreading out into space and changing the way humans negotiate space. Take our project real-Time rome. We collected information where people were all over the city by just aggregating and analyzing the traffic of cell phones, buses, taxis, and trains. People can see the data and it increases their range of choices. Navigation systems in vehicles or smartphones are already part of the “senseable” city you envision. How can you take that concept further? There is still a lot of work necessary to really measure and process live traffic: better precision, more accuracy. The control system as a whole poses a much bigger challenge. We all have optimization algorithms in our heads. But if you rely on the intelligence in your car and all cars are programmed the same way, they all arrive at the same results. We don’t achieve better outcomes. everybody is driving along the same route to avoid a problem and creating a new one. You can see on the stock market what happens if everybody is aligned. everybody uses similar algorithms for program trading, and they all scream: buy, buy, buy! or sell, sell, sell! You just amplify identical decisions into a bigger problem.
“Technology changes the way people negotiate space,” claims Carlo rATTI, Director of SenSeable City Lab at MIT in Boston.
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TRANSFER Let’s assume a few years on, every object is location-enabled and can broadcast its status. How are humans supposed to make sense of this deluge? You can compare this problem to the early days of the Internet. People wondered how to make sense of all those links and pages, and then google arrived. Its software hides the messy complexity under a simple-looking interface that actually answers many of our questions. We humans have actually reacted to this by changing our own behavior when and where we click, so our behavior shapes the whole system and makes it easier to navigate. There is room for a google of the real-time senseable world. Of course there are big questions: We don’t know yet what the architecture and infrastructure of a global, real-time sensor network will look like, how centralized such a system will be, who and what machines will have access to the data and can share them with other humans or systems.
9:30 am StaRt at rATTI’s home in Cambridge.
19 Feb 2010 9:30 am – 6:45 pm
What will transportation look like in these instrumented, always-on cities? Once technology becomes truly ubiquitous, it almost disappears into the environment — we don’t notice it anymore. A light switch is a given, when you enter a room — you don’t spend a second worrying if there will be light. The same is true for Wi-fi connections, and it will be true for all kinds of other data and tools. You have your mind and hands free to do things you care about. The prime example is the computer. first they were giant machines sitting in a basement. Then they moved to our desks, forcing us to sit at one spot. now they are moving into our pockets. That has crucial effects on architecture and space — until not too long ago the machines were dictating the layout and design of our spaces and our buildings! Humans had to arrange their work lives around the needs of machines. You could argue that half the space requirements were defined by technology. now, we’re getting to the point where it’s almost 100 percent about human needs.
HARVARD MUSeUM OF nATURAl HiSTORY
On the way to Harvard university, looking for parking off Harvard Square.
HARVARD ART MUSeUM
3:00 pm EXECUtiVE MEEtiNG Harvard university
4:15 pm MEEtiNG Kennedy School
HARVARD BUSineSS SCHOOl Discussing new approaches. Meeting at Harvard university.
2:00 pm CONFERENCE Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
rATTI explains his latest findings on sensoric systems at the Kennedy School of government.
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Carlo rATTI in his office.
10:00 am EXECUtiVE MEEtiNG SenSeable City Lab (MIT)
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cURRicULUM ViTAE 38 years old +++ Director of the SenSeable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Won’t we see more traffic than ever if everyone is free to roam around all the time? Transportation will be much more intelligent and quicker than today, because all the different components are better synchronized. The advantage of the car over public transportation has been the fact that you can make individual decisions that are better tailored to your needs in space and time. Technology like my lab is developing shifts the balance. Once there are sensors on buses, in cars, embedded in roads and traffic lights, you or your technological assistants will know the status of your transportation options and let you know when it’s time to leave the house. So we cut back on wasted time — the border between private and public transportation becomes blurred. The next step would be to actuate on the transportation vehicles — they can be dynamically routed because they can sense where people are waiting. Again, machines adjust to our needs, not the other way around.
What role will private cars play in this sensor-rich world of large urban centers? Cars will certainly continue to be a major component of intelligent transportation: being connected to your information, hav ing better telematics systems, being more aware of your driving environment. The main change I foresee is that the car will lose some of its power as a status symbol, to broadcast to the world who you are. The younger generation will use other ways to tell a story about themselves: their customized iPhone, their facebook page. Conspicuous consumption will move on to other elements of our daily lives — first from atoms to bits and in the future to a mix of bits and atoms — hardware with lots of embedded software and intelligence, sensing power that allows you to tailor technology to your needs and at the same time broadcast your profile and preferences to the world. Cars can adopt to this change if they offer a new way of expressing one’s personality and one’s ideas of transportation in a senseable city. We live in exciting times!
+++ engineer and architect +++ Considered to be one of the world’s leading experts for advanced sensor technology +++ The native of Italy studied in Paris (france), Turin (Italy), and Cambridge (uK), before going to new england in 2000 to conduct research at the MIT Media Lab +++
HYpERLiNK You’ll find further information about this article at: daimler-technicity.com/transfer including the following features: • inTeRVieW A man of vision: The full-length interview with Carlo rATTI, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology • BACKGROUnD Beyond the cloud: An overview of Carlo rATTI‘s work at Senseable City Lab • BACKGROUnD LeD Cloud above London: The Senseable City Lab project The Cloud • ViDeO flying pixels in open space: The Senseable City Lab project flyfire
“Very soon, all these traffic lights and lamp posts will have sensors to make traffic flow better.”
6:45 pm CHECK iN for flight LH 425 to Munich and London at Logan International Airport.
On the way across town, stuck in rush hour traffic.
Author Steffan Heuer (right) accompanies rATTI on his way to the international airport.
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>> Why make a little step when you can jump?
The smart fortwo electric drive Until now doing something good has always meant making compromises. But that’s no longer true. The future drives quietly, efficiently and with no local emissions – and it also accelerates dynamically and seamlessly. And as well as easing the burden on the environment, every journey with the smart fortwo electric drive also offers an extra portion of driving fun. Turn driving into a completely new experience, also for your conscience – with the smart fortwo electric drive. www.smart.com
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Find it, open it, drive it — that’s how easy it is to use car2go, an innovative CONCEPT for individual mobility that is now being tested in Ulm (Germany) and Austin, Texas (U.S.). Individual transportation in the “hyperlocal” city of the future will be based on customized, absolutely flexible, economically attractive, and environmentally friendly mobility systems. (page 74) Driving COMFORT in a vehicle can now be reliably measured. These measurements, together with customers’ wishes, flow into innovation processes so that driving conditions can be improved. The aim is to make drivers feel comfortable so that they are relaxed — even after a long drive. (page 82)
Do n
au
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are being adapted in line with people’s habitual ways of seeing. By precisely controlling the focus, CONTRAST, and color values of LEDs, it is now possible to utilize lighting in ways that increase safety and well-being. (page 88)
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Hyperlocal A8 B10
PARAMETER ULM STATUS: Research-oriented city AREA: 118.69 km2 GERMANY
POPULATION (city): 121,648 POPULATION (region, including Neu-Ulm): 170,000
Ulm
CAR2GO AREA: 98 km2 (78 km2 in Ulm and 20 km2 in Neu-Ulm)
nu be
CAR2GO VEHICLES: 200 smart fortwo cdi
Da
REGISTERED CUSTOMERS: about 19,000 BASE STATIONS: • Vehicles can be returned to any unoccupied public parking space
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• Specially marked car2go parking spaces: approx. 140 in Ulm and Neu-Ulm
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Mobility THE CITY OF THE FUTURE WILL HAVE A SOPHISTICATED NETWORK OF INFORMATION AND MOBILITY SYNAPSES. CUSTOMIZED, FULLY FLEXIBLE, INEXPENSIVE, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY EFFICIENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS WILL BECOME THE NORM. TEXT
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Steffan HEUER
PARAMETER AUSTIN USA Austin
STATUS: Capital of the state of Texas AREA: 767.28 km2 POPULATION (city): 750,525 POPULATION (region): 1,557,829 CAR2GO AREA: 45 km2
1
CAR2GO VEHICLES: 200 smart fortwo with gasoline engines REGISTERED CUSTOMERS: about 3,000 (on March 20th 2010)
Colorado River
BASE STATIONS: Can also be returned to parking spaces operated by the city within the car2go area
SOURCE: ulm.de, car2go GmbH, US Census Bureau
CAR2GO PARKING SPACES: approx. 80
LEGEND AVERAGE IDLE TIME (minutes) 03/2010, 12:00 a.m. –11:59 p.m. The image on the far left shows that flexible mobility solutions such as car2go are popular in downtown Ulm.
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long projected idle time between two rentals short projected idle time between two rentals
VEHICLE AVAILABILITY (March 2010) 03/2010, 12:00 a.m. –11:59 p.m. The image on the right shows the car2go vehicles available in downtown Austin. Experts expect that the vehicles will be used as frequently as in Ulm once the project has been successfully launched. low availability high availability
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COMPLEX ALGORITHMS To meet the allocation needs of the car2go fleet, so-called graph theory was used during planning. The nodes in the graphs of the car2go developers represent the vehicles and customers, while the edges represent the reservations and spur-of-the-moment bookings. “Mathematically speaking, we search for the maximum bipartite matching of vehicles and bookings,” explains Axel Blumenstock from the
Director of car2go GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler. “I’m standing beside a car. If the vehicle is available, I just hop in, drive off, and don’t need to worry about anything else.”
Quality Analysis unit at Daimler Group Research. “We also determine the minimum number of critical vehicles. Only these vehicles need to be blocked for spur-of-the-moment use, thereby ensuring that we can reliably meet our
RESULTS FROM ULM The idea of a fully flexible car rental service that is invoiced by the minute has met with a great response in the area of Ulm and Neu-Ulm (total population about 175,000) in southern Germany. One year after the project began, more than 19,000 people (about one-sixth of all adults with a driver’s license) had registered for the service. The 200 smart fortwo cars are rented up to 1,000 times per day. It’s particularly interesting to note that two out of three car2go users in Ulm are under 36 years of age.
reservation obligations.”
URBAN MOBILITY — INTERNATIONAL Large numbers of creative people live closely together in urban centers and major cities in the United States, Asia, and Europe. These people’s desire for maximum individual mobility on the spur of the moment conflicts with reality in urban areas. Not only are the streets congested and the parking lots full, the subways are packed and people often don’t have enough money to buy their own cars. But there already is a solution that will enable creative urban people to remain mobile in the 21st century. The prototype of this concept is on display in Ulm and Austin.
NEXT STEP: AUSTIN The immediate success gave the start-up company the confidence to try its luck on the other side of the Atlantic. Following a six-month test phase with municipal employees of Austin, Texas, the 750,000 inhabitants of the state capital and university city were able to enjoy the advantages of spur-of-the-moment mobility themselves in late May. “Austin is the ideal city for bringing this concept to North America,” says Nicholas Cole, who manages the car2go project in the U.S. “The city is very open to new technologies and ideas, and it attracts many young people and creative minds. The people here want to use new approaches to tackle the challenges associated with the growth in traffic.” The “new approach” consists of 200 blueand-white smart fortwos. You can hop into one right in front of Cole’s office in downtown Austin or at dozens of public parking spaces throughout the city. All of the vehicles are networked with a completely new logistics system. However, customers don’t notice the complexity. A green diode on the windshield shows if a vehicle is available. Registered customers must then merely wave their chip card in order to unlock the car’s door.
“I’m standing beside a car. If the vehicle is available, I just hop in, drive off, and don’t need to worry about anything else.” Robert HENRICH Managing Director of car2go GmbH
For almost two years now, Daimler’s car2go project has been intelligently bridging the gap between the needs of urban living and city people’s mobility preferences. Initial results from Germany and the U.S. show that there is great demand for this kind of flexible and spur-of-the-moment mobility. “The basic idea is quite simple — as simple as using a cell phone,” says Robert Henrich, Managing 76
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FIND, opeN, aND DrIve oFF — that’s basIcally how car2go works
Calling... Car2go
1
Find
2
• iPhone App • Online • Optional telephone booking (prerequisite: registered customer of car2go)
get in/drive off
3
• Hold your driver’s license with the electronic car2go seal next to the card reader on the windshield • Enter PIN into touchscreen • Evaluate the vehicle’s condition • Take the ignition key out of the special holder in the glove compartment
stopover
• The vehicle remains locked during stopovers • Only the current user can drive it
3
2
1
4
4
park
• Put the ignition key back into the glove compartment • Lock the door using the car2go seal
The booking system then logs the customer into the central server in Stuttgart, and the user can drive off in less than five seconds. car2go conveniently invoices use by the minute, charging drivers € 0.19 per minute in Ulm and $0.35 per minute in Austin. The fee also covers the cost of insurance and gasoline. There’s also an attractive service package, including a navigation system. Direct contact to the customer service department is possible at the push of a button. “You can hardly get more flexible than that,” says Cole. “You can book a car in advance, but you don’t have to. You can use the vehicle as long as you want and leave it anywhere you like in the downtown area.” According to Cole, car2go is therefore ideal for city people who either don’t have a car, would like to drive their car less often, or want to cover the last mile to their destination after traveling on a train or bus. “The concept also affects people’s lifestyles in the city,” he says. This level of freedom within Austin’s 17-square-mile area (44 square kilometers) goes well beyond the flexibility of existing carsharing concepts, which normally stipulate fixed handover locations and times. DAIMLEr-TECHNICITY.COM
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back IN gerMaNy Experts have awarded this kind of unrestricted mobility top marks. For one thing, it has a positive impact on the environment. Martin Müller, a professor of sustainable economic development at the University of Ulm, questioned 400 car2go customers and subsequently had his students calculate how the changed mobility patterns influenced greenhouse gas emissions. Müller concluded that the project was reducing CO2 emissions by 3,100 tons per year in Ulm alone. There are several reasons for this reduction. In early 2010, the U.S. market research institute Frost & Sullivan determined that carsharing customers in the United States drove almost one-third fewer miles last year than did normal car owners. As a result, on average they were able to save € 1,375 per year in terms of cost of ownership. It’s therefore no surprise that automotive practice analyst David Zhao from Frost & Sullivan predicts that the car-sharing sector will grow substantially over the next five years, with the number of users rising from one million to ten million by 2016. In the eyes of Frost & Sullivan, the expansion of the Daimler subsidiary car2go to Austin — and therefore right into the heart of a car-loving nation — is of particular significance, because it “ushers in a new era for the automotive industry.” That’s good news for Jérôme Guillen, Director of Business Innovation at Daimler, who heads the team that turned the car2go idea into a finished service within just nine months. Guillen is also convinced that the great customer response to car2go in Ulm and Austin marks a milestone in the way consumers and automakers think about mobility. “For various reasons, more and more people are choosing not to own a car,” says Guillen, who was born in France. “car2go is an attempt to increase the rate and level of car use over the course of a day.” (See the interview on page 81.)
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When traveling from Brooklyn to Manhattan, Henry CHalian has a choice: He can ride the whole distance on the subway or call a car service. “I risk arriving too late in both cases, but those are the only options I have here in New York,” he says. CHalian faces a similar problem when he has to get through ManHenry CHALIAN
hattan’s congested streets to arrive on time for an appointment: He
42, media industry,
can take a bus, a taxi, or just walk. “A small city car would be ideal
New York
for short distances,” says CHalian. “You could get through the traffic basically anywhere and even find a parking space.”
This is partly due to the fact that car2go is conceived as an open-ended system. “Information technology is normally just a means to an end, but this project put it firmly centerstage. We started from scratch so that we cold develop a fully flexible system,” says Helmuth Ritzer, who is the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of car2go GmbH and has been a Daimler employee since 1993.
“car2go is an attempt to increase the rate and level of car use over the course of a day.” Jérôme GUILLEN Director of Business Innovation at Daimler
As customers can drive the cars to any location and just leave them there, the logistics program behind the project must work flawlessly to ensure that sufficient numbers of smart fortwos are always available in highly frequented areas — in other words, places where pedestrians and commuters are likely to whip out their chip cards. Experts in system theory like to talk about “natural gravity,” which eventually attracts the vehicles back to the key urban nodes. “Although it’s difficult to calculate the exact details in advance, it works. You can also expand such a system so that it is capable of meeting the needs of a city of a million inhabitants,” says Ritzen. “The technological difficulties are relatively easy to overcome.” MOBILITY AS A COMMUNITY Customers will help decide what ideal mobility will look like in the future. Younger people, in particular, consider car2go to be much more than just a rental car for taking short spins of less than 15 kilometers on average. “People who use car2go become part of a community, 78
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norie Fukuda and her husband Hiro live in southwest Tokyo. More than 35 million people live in the city’s metropolitan area, which is why the couple almost always use public transportation. “For the remaining five percent of our trips, we either walk or use a bicycle,” says Fukuda. “We have to rent a car whenever we want to bring models and other materials to a customer. And that can be a hassle. It would
Norie FUkUDA, 42, architect, Tokyo
therefore be ideal if we could share a car that we could use for half an hour whenever we needed it.”
whose members think alike when it comes to urban mobility and the environment,” says Angela Zatopek, a student at the University of Texas in Austin. Zatopek was one of the first test customers in Austin. These days, she leaves her SUV in the garage and drives to the university campus every day in a smart fortwo instead. “I now save a quarter of an hour per drive because I no longer have to worry about finding a parking space,” she says. “And it also expresses my lifestyle — my friends think what I’m doing is cool.” She also says that car2go customers rapidly develop a sense of responsibility because they have to rate the state of the car by clicking on a simple scale when they first get in. “It’s no longer just an anonymous rental car, but a part of my daily life,” she says. And this new way of looking at things is affecting not just 20-year-old students. Take realtor Roland Galang, for example. He sells high-rise apartments in Austin to young computer programmers and 60-year-old retirees who are being drawn from the suburbs into the lively inner city, where they can walk to the various cafés, shops, and galleries. “car2go practically sells itself. The first thing I
did was to register all of my 30 employees as customers,” says Galang. “But I think it has much more potential — why should I have to buy a parking space in my apartment building if several car2go vehicles are parked right in front of my door? It’s also an image issue for people who live an urban lifestyle but want to remain mobile.” SOCIAL MEDIA NETwORkING People who lead a networked, freedom-oriented lifestyle also need smartphones and social media services to keep in touch with relatives and friends. Millions of people check in on sites like Twitter and Facebook several times a day or use location-based services like Foursquare and Gowalla to let others know what they are doing at the moment and where they are. Younger people, in particular, don’t want to forego such spur-of-the-moment networking opportunities. A survey conducted in 2009 by Bitkom, the umbrella organization of the German IT industry, revealed that although 97 percent of Germans under the age of 30 can no longer imagine living without a cell phone, only 64 percent are as passionately attached to their car.
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Hyperlocality This phenomenon describes the merging of the physical world with the virtual world. When in a condition of hyperlocality, the real world acts like a website. Using cell phones, it is possible to select real-life objects in order to obtain information about them or add comments.
Augmented Reality (AR) The term AR refers to the computer-assisted expansion of people’s perception of reality. Using image recognition software, additional information can be inserted onto the display of a digital camera.
THE FUTURE STARTS NOw The physical world is covered by a
Smartphone
digital layer in which objects can communicate with one another. Each logged-in user knows where other
= smart telephone Portable devices that combine the capabilities of a cell phone with those of a personal digital assistant (PDA).
users are and what they are doing at any particular moment. Objects can be localized and can thus become inter-
GPS
= Global Positioning System Used for the satellite-based pinpointing of places, objects, and people.
faces to an unlimited-use data space. Another step toward creating a hyperlocal world is being taken by new mobility concepts based on key technologies such as RFID and GPS-enabled
RFID = Radio Frequency identification Automatic identification and localization of objects and living beings with the help of electromagnetic waves.
Mobility
microchips, the GeoWeb, and mobile communications devices such as smartphones.
Profile Individually predefined information about an Internet user. Matching profiles are used to define specific user groups (communities), which can be supplied with special information such as personalized advertising.
A basic social function of the economy and of private life; it is synonymous with a modern concept of motion.
GeoWeb = geographical location-based information A collective term for technologies such as GPS and RFID.
Cloud Computing = managing information “in the cloud” The term refers to an approach in which abstracted IT infrastructures (e.g. computing capacity or data storage), finished software packages, and programming environments are adapted in line with demand and made available via networks.
Google Earth = free software from Google for the depiction of a virtual globe It can superimpose geographical data on satellite images and aerial photographs of various resolutions, and display them on a digital altitude model of the earth.
Mobile Persuasion
Geo Targeted = geolocation Refers to the possibility of determining the place of origin of IP addresses, MAC addresses, and IPTCs/XMPs. It can serve as the basis for creating a user profile.
A theory, which postulates that the use of mobile communication tools such as smartphones influences our behavior and limits our perception of reality.
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The headhunter travels throughout Europe by plane and rail in order to visit companies and candidates interested in management positions. “Although long-distance trips are simple and comfortable, neither local public transport nor rental cars are convenient or fast enough for covering the last few kilometers. The effort is generally incommensurate with the shortness of my stays,” says STEinkRauSS, who visits a major city at least once a week and prefers to use his own car when at home.
Rufus STEINkRAUSS, 45, recruiter, Hamburg
CAR2GETHER — “CARPOOLING 2.0” The web-based system car2gether helps users find a ride-share driver or passenger quickly and conveniently. Vacant seats, destinations, and departure
So why not link the two advanced mobility concepts? Because the car2go fleet is already completely networked, the administrators can use GPS and cell phone networks to see where and when a particular vehicle was used and dropped off. But that’s only the start. The team headed by Henrich and Cole has opened up its programming interfaces and is leaving it up to the users to develop innovative smartphone applications — so that people can find out where available vehicles are in their immediate vicinity, for example. “car2go enthusiasts have so far developed two outstanding iPhone apps,” says Ritzer. “Although car2go is dependent on the smart fortwo, a reliable and efficient vehicle, this intelligent platform can also be used for many other services. For example, it could relay information on special offers from the stores in front of which the car is parked. It could also tell me where my Facebook friends are driving at the moment or provide public transport information.” Because of its high data density, the system also benefits cities like Austin and Ulm. In real-time it shows where people are headed, are spending their time, or where the city might have a potential traffic planning problem. “We don’t follow individual customers around, of course,” says Ritzer. “It goes without saying that data protection has top priority. But the combined data lets you see how a city operates minute by minute, around the clock, seven days a week.” It therefore comes as no surprise that other cities in Europe and North America have also taken an interest in car2go as a means of making their transportation systems more flexible and environmentally friendly — and thus better equipped to meet the challenges of the future. 80
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times are automatically matched and can be accessed either directly at a PC or on the move via smartphone.
HYPERLINK You’ll find further information related to this article at:
daimler-technicity.com/car2go including the following features: • vIDEO Making mobility easy: Behind the scenes at car2go • BACkGROUND Hyperlocality: When virtual and real worlds merge • INTERvIEw “We are writing our own rules”: Jérôme GUILLEN, Director of Business Innovation at Daimler, talks about mobile networks • CHRONICLE A success story: The history of the smart
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JÉRÔME GUILLEN: “We come up with our own rules for developing innovations and are not afraid of thinking up new concepts and testing them in prototypes.” Mr. Guillen, how difficult was it to turn a revolutionary idea like car2go into reality? It was an ambitious project to create a flexible fleet of vehicles that could be rented and given back on the spur of the moment. Such a project requires great programming skill and the vehicles and software must be perfectly integrated. The project team was created in 2008 and just nine months later the system was launched in Ulm in October 2009. That’s something we’re proud of. is a job at car2go different from others, and does successful innovation require the complete sense of freedom offered by a start-up company? The Business Innovation unit, which provides projectspecific support for car2go, is located in Untertürkheim. Daimler was founded here too. In other words, we’re situated at the heart of the company. However, day-to-day activities in the office are unpredictable. After all, there is no manual on how to develop innovations. That’s why we come up with our own rules. We’re not afraid of thinking up new concepts and testing them in prototypes. One day, you’ll maybe have gathered enough material to write the ultimate manual … Ultimately, it all comes down to learning by doing. We first try to imagine what new products and services could create added value for customers. Secondly, we ask ourselves how they could do the same for Daimler. The idea behind car2go is actually quite simple: More and more people are living in cities and an increasing number of them are deciding not to own their own car for various financial, environmental, and philosophical reasons. So how can we at Daimler ensure that we can offer them a good mobility solution? That question was the origin of car2go. Nicolas Hayek, the man behind the smart, originally thought about creating a similar mobility concept. However, the required technologies, such as GPS and cell phones, weren’t sufficiently advanced 15 years ago.
To date, the response of the people in Ulm has exceeded our expectations. However, we also have to offer the service in such a way that the company makes a profit. Where do you go get inspiration and suggestions for new ideas? We have to be modest here because our unit isn’t some kind of unlimited source of great ideas that will totally transform the entire industry. We have to promote and bundle the entrepreneurial spirit of the company’s 250,000 employees and our partners. That’s why our unit is open to suggestions from all sides and maintains good connections on both a formal and an informal level. do you have some kind of system for identifying such ideas as quickly and effectively as possible so that you can channel them in the right direction? We have developed the BI Community — an innovation platform for our intranet. It enables employees to submit and rate ideas. The platform is like Wikipedia in that it enables all of the users to comment on the ideas and edit them. It also has similarities with LinkedIn in that the participants can create profiles and network with other users. There are also videos, so the platform is also a bit like YouTube. Every suggestion must be clearly explained before participants can rate it with a number of stars. The system is a great source of new ideas and also provides inspiration for improving existing ones.
CuRRICuLuM VITAE Jérôme GUILLEN Director of Business Innovation at Daimler since October 1, 2007
+++ 38 years old +++ Joined the company in 2002 +++ Respon-
How can you measure the success of such an unconventional concept? The critical point is reached when a project progresses from the test phase for a closed group of users and is opened to the general public. That’s when real-life customers have to pay for the service with their own money. DAIMLER-TECHNICITY.COM
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sible for the development and market launch of the heavy-duty Cascadia truck at Freightliner until 2007 +++ Employed by the business consultancy firm McKinsey & Co., Inc. +++ Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, U.S. +++ Master of Science (M.Sc.) at ETSII Technical University in Madrid, Spain, in 1994 +++
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6
43
. . .basic emotions are felt by human beings:. .neutrality, joy, grief, surprise, fear,. anger, and disgust.
muscles in the human face react
with extreme sensitivity to the tiniest change of emotion
1,200
60,000
individual images were captured in the.
. . .criteria are considered in voice analysis so.
films examined in the laboratory.
that researchers can draw conclusions about. .the test person’s mood.
250
140
gigabytes of data in total were recorded during. .the study of driving pleasure.
points in the human face are monitored.
by software created at the Technische.
Universität München in order to register. the person’s current mood .
PIONeeRING ReSeARCH INTO DRIVING PLeASURe The numbers shown here refer to the first scientific study of driving pleasure, which was carried out in 2008 in the Center for Society, Vehicle Concepts, and Human-Machine Interaction at Daimler together with experts from the Fraunhofer Institute Rostock and the Technische Universität München. The test persons’ facial expressions and voices turned out to give the best results when it came to measuring driving pleasure.
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TexT Rüdiger Abele
The Comfort Experience People’s need for comfort is as varied as the people themselves. Nonetheless, it’s possible to identify some general patterns which, in conjunction with overarching social trends, enable us to make forecasts about the way people will live in the future.
S
ociety is in a constant state of change — in terms of people’s innermost needs and desires, and in every country of the world. every business enterprise is dependent on social trends, because they determine whether a product is appealing — and therefore successful. The hoped-for ultimate stage of this development comes when the product is not simply regarded as appealing but integrates itself so smoothly into the customer’s daily routine that it is perceived as an essential part of one’s life. In such a case, the product becomes a partner. A good place to find out in what direction future products will develop is Daimler’s futurological research unit in berlin, Germany. When he’s asked which future trends are the most significant, Frank Ruff, of the Center for Society, Vehicle Concepts, and Human-Machine Interaction at Daimler, doesn’t hesitate for long. The psychologist and sociologist can refer back to the extensive trend analyses and future
scenarios that have been formulated and are continually updated by the research group’s interdisciplinary teams. “People’s increasing life expectancy, their growing awareness of health issues, and their search for a good quality of life are making health and personal well-being a bigger focal point than ever before,” he says. “In addition, more and more people all over the world are living and pursuing various activities in cities, including many major conurbations.” He points out that both aspects have an influence on the way people organize their daily lives, and thus on future products. For example, automobiles are being designed to be increasingly comfortable and individualized, because they are valued as personal and mobile spaces where people live and relax. These developments can be observed in all of the strong economic regions, whether they’re in europe, North America or Asia. Countries whose economies are still lagging behind today will join this trend as soon as their social well-being reaches an equivalent level.
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Comfort, as one aspect of the overall scenario, will also become more significant. but what does this concept mean, exactly? A look at the relevant literature reveals two general definitions of the term. According to one definition, comfort is a condition of well-being that is based on the use of devices, objects or equipment. For example, household appliances are perceived as pleasant because they make our work easier and reduce the amount of physical labor required in daily life. According to the second definition, comfort is the absence of discomfort — that is, feelings that are generally perceived as unpleasant. one example of this is auditory comfort: Most people feel that a quiet environment is comfortable and that noisy machines are unpleasant and should be avoided. Also relevant to a more precise understanding of the concept of comfort is an idea expressed by the writer eduard Graf Keyserling in his essay “on the Psychology of Comfort” in 1905. He writes that comfort has a “subservient friendship” with human beings which includes aspects of nurturing and protection. To return to the example of auditory comfort, people feel that a quiet automobile interior promotes their well-being, and that a vehicle with such an interior is a friendly aspect of daily life that enables them to focus on pleasant thoughts or pure relaxation.
“In two out of three cases, driving pleasure is strongly related to the perception of vehicle comfort.” Götz ReNNeR Center for Society, Vehicle Concepts, and Human-Machine Interaction at Daimler
Götz Renner is very familiar with these nuances of the concept’s definition — as well as their advantages and disadvantages. “Well-being, a component of the first definition, is difficult to record precisely. It’s much easier to measure discomfort,” says Renner, who has a Ph.D. in psychology and works at the Center for Society, Vehicle Concepts, and Human-Machine Interaction at Daimler. The Center plays a key role in the process of designing future vehicles by researching customer demands and working with customers to test new products such as safety features at an early stage. In this way, it is possible to find out how acceptable the products are to the customers. These are important steps on the way to a series product. The challenge is to equip a product with specific qualities that match customer demands and are based on well-founded data. Here, the center can rely on numerous methods and tools that deliver reliable information. All these ideas can be tested in another venue — inside a current model of a Daimler vehicle. every Mercedes-benz product sets new standards within its vehicle class, and that applies to comfort features as well. The “look and feel” aspects of the vehicle elicit many spontaneous feelings that are experienced as comfort criteria — for example, the solid sound of the driver’s door closing, the distance between the driver and the steering wheel, the switches and controls, the mechanisms for adjusting the seats and the air conditioning, the sense of space, the smell of the interior, the feel of the push/turn control knob, and the intuitive menu structure in the central color display. An inexperienced user might regard some of these features as pure luxury. but Claus ehlers, Head of the Center for Society, Vehicle Concepts, and Human-Machine Interaction at Daimler, has a different view. “A comfort feature is an amenity that directly fosters well-being
eVALUATING DRIVING PLeASURe As part of the pilot study of driving pleasure, the facial expressions of eight drivers were recorded in detail. Their expressions turned out to be good indicators of the experienced driving pleasure.
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HoW ARe CUSToMeR WISHeS DeTeRMINeD ? At its Center for Society, Vehicle Concepts, and
with test subjects from both within and outside the
the experts at Daimler. As a result, they can discuss
Human-Machine Interaction, Daimler is investigating
company, use cars that are equipped with tomorrow’s
their observations and impressions. In combination
a range of topics. They include how customers per-
technology. In addition to evaluating the technology,
with the recorded drive, all of this data is evaluated
ceive a car, what impression the materials used make,
the tests record the people’s reactions in great detail.
by the scientists in order to determine what they call
how important the design of the interior and driver
The factors that are analyzed include:
“physiological and psychological indicators of stress.”
area are, and how well new technologies are received.
• Heart rate
If the stress levels experienced are low, the new
The research activities particularly focus on the vari-
• Muscle tension
technologies are considered to enhance comfort. In
ous emotions that a vehicle evokes in its driver.
• body movements
other words, the driver will get out of his or her car
The practical tests include in-depth interviews and
• Facial expressions
relaxed and satisfied — even after a long drive. Ideally,
psychological tests designed to evaluate the user’s
At the push of a button, the test subjects can
he or she will be in even better shape than at the start
experience. The driving tests, which are carried out
establish a direct audio and visual connection to
of the trip.
WHAT FACToRS INFlUeNCe oUR SeNSe oF DRIVING CoMFoRT ? COMFORT HIeRARCHY
INFLUeNCeS ON THe DRIVeR
“POSITIVe DRIVING exPeRIeNCe” MODeL The vehicle supports:
Increasing comfort “Luxury” ambience
Time pressure Comfort of movement and operation
Comfort of operation
active driving dynamic, sporty driving
Road/traffic conditions
Relaxation
Personal condition on a particular day
“passive” driving cruising along comfortably
Vehicle
Skills
ergonomics Climate environmental comfort
Motivation
Climate, noise Fitness
... Creation of ideal-typical emotional states:
Vibrations, light Driver Smell
“Flowing” positive mood and high level of activity
“Relaxed” positive mood and low level of activity
HoW IS CoMFoRT MeASUReD ? MULTI-LeVeL MODeL Due to the complexity of the human organism, the measurement of a person’s physical and mental condition is performed on three different levels:
1.
2.
3.
Somatic level, physical changes
Psychological level, subjective experience
Behavioral and performance level
eeG (electroencephalogram) information on fatigue eCG (electrocardiogram) information on stress Hormone cortisol stress parameters PST (pupillographic sleepiness test) information on sleepiness
Questionnaires regarding a person’s general mood, the quality of his or her sleep, any stress factors he or she may be aware of, and possibilities for recuperation
Level of concentration, precision, and speed determined in standardized performance tests Quality of driving behavior in a specific situation
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MaCRoSCoPE THe PRe-SCAN CHASSIS body oil Actuator (hydraulic) Shock absorber Spring strut
Wheel
In 2007, Mercedes-benz introduced the PRe-SCAN chassis in the F700 research vehicle. The innovative system adjusts the vehicle to the bumps in the road by calculating in advance what the parameters for the most comfortable chassis setting should be. The system does this so well that engineers rightfully refer to it as a “magic carpet.”
and thus offers people a practical benefit,” he says. That means it’s not a luxury, because a luxury would imply excess. but isn’t it sometimes hard to see the difference? “of course,” he replies. “but comfort always involves very clear functional factors.” At Mercedes-benz, the claim to comfort is even a fixed aspect of the brand definition. According to Renner, “All aspects of comfort feed into what we call ‘performance-promoting comfort.’ That’s an integral part of our brand definition. It means that a Mercedes-benz driver is relaxed when he or she steps out of the car, even after a long drive.” The prerequisites for that are innovative seating ergonomics, an optimally tuned chassis, state-of-the-art air conditioning technology, voice-operated controls, and assistance systems, Renner adds. The current example he cites is the Adaptive Highbeam Assistant, which automatically switches the high beams on and off according to the current traffic situation so that the driver always has the greatest possible lighting and range of vision. “However, it’s not only technical features that increase the driver’s comfort, reduce stress, make driving easier, and enhance physical fitness and performance capacity,” explains Renner. “Psychological factors, what we call ‘soft facts,’ also play a role because they too are important for a driver’s motivation and ability to act.”
How the PRe-SCAN chassis works: • Infrared lasers scan the road ahead to determine its profile. • on the basis of this profile, the control system calculates exactly how the chassis should best be controlled. • Hydraulic actuators in the chassis compensate for
“Comprehensive comfort will become a key characteristic of future leading products all over the world.”
the bumps in the road by regulating the flow of oil
Frank RUFF
into each of the spring struts.
Center for Society, Vehicle Concepts, and Human-Machine Interaction at Daimler
• body movements caused by bumps and depressions are greatly reduced. Mercedes-benz has been installing an enhanced version of the PRe-SCAN chassis, called Magic body Control, into vehicles since September 2010. To better recognize the condition of the road, the new technology uses a stereo camera behind the windshield instead of laser sensors in the headlights.
Ruff defines the future outlook as follows: “Comprehensive comfort will become a key characteristic of future leading products all over the world. This will be based on a sharpened public awareness of the factors that promote health and quality of life. Today people regard health as a lifelong personal fitness program that they design themselves through their chosen lifestyle. Accordingly, people look for opportunities to structure all aspects of their lives. one’s entire living situation is organized as much as possible according to health criteria — including one’s living arrangements, clothing, diet, and daily routines. Physical and emotional well-being are equally important here. “And because many people are spending more and more time in their cars or commercial vehicles, they expect comfort features to make their vehicle a partner, so to speak, as they search for wellbeing and a good quality of life.” People remain curious about the car of the future, and that applies to passenger cars as well as commercial vehicles. The researchers at Daimler have defined a number of major theme areas for the characteristics vehicles may have in the future. “The automobile of the future will be regarded as a place to live in even more than it is today,” says ehlers. That’s why it’s a quick jump to topics such as interior design, communication options, entertainment systems, and lighting control. Most importantly, design and materials will make vehicle interiors even more pleasant than before — and the most recent research vehicle, the F800 Style, offers an updated overview of possible interior concepts. Its partially transparent roof also ensures that the interior is flooded with light. but that’s only one option. The researchers and developers have long been thinking about incorporating subtle
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lighting panels into the roof and sidewalls of the vehicle. These would emit light of different colors and create a very special ambience. “The color and intensity of the light could be adjusted to precisely match the driver’s wishes,” says ehlers.
DIaLoguE Claus eHLeRS Head of the Daimler Center for Society,
“We’ll be able to better customize the automotive environment — for example, via the climate control system, lighting, and communication functions.”
Vehicle Concepts, and Human-Machine Interaction How is comfort defined for a Mercedes-Benz vehicle? The brand’s understanding of comfort is multifaceted, but all aspects are geared toward achieving the same goal. We use the expression “performance-enhancing comfort” to refer to all of the measures
Claus eHLeRS
that are characteristic of a vehicle. Ideally, these measures should
Head of the Daimler Center for Society, Vehicle Concepts, and Human-Machine
allow a driver to be relaxed even after a long-distance trip. To
Interaction
enhance comfort, our engineers and designers are targeting specific areas, particularly in the car’s interior, since that’s obviously where
The aspect of individualization applies to a variety of comfort features. After all, the key thing is to ensure that the customer feels perfectly comfortable in his or her vehicle. entertainment and communication technology, which can also be individually adjusted, will play an important role when it comes to helping drivers feel comfortable. For many people, the time they spend in their vehicles already accounts for a major portion of their daily leisure time. Some people appreciate this time because it gives them an opportunity to communicate with friends and family — and in the future these communication options will be even better than they are today. For other drivers, the car is a place where they can get away from it all for a while, either in complete silence or with a favorite entertainment program. The researchers won’t divulge much more, but it’s already clear that the theme of comfort will take on a completely new dimension in future vehicles. As a result, cars will become attractive partners even more than is the case today.
the driver is. of interest in this regard are areas such as operating comfort, seating comfort, and climate comfort. Which future trend are you focusing on most at the current time? experts throughout the world agree that the car of tomorrow will focus even more on ensuring the occupants’ overall well-being than is currently the case. Cars are increasingly viewed as environments that play a major role in motorists’ everyday life and should therefore offer all of the conveniences that the drivers want them to have. Individuals will be able to influence this environment to a relatively large degree — through the kind of climate-control and lighting systems a car has, for example, and of course by operating the entertainment and communication functions. What specific innovations can be expected? of course, I can’t reveal secrets about completely new systems. However, I can tell you that we are also enhancing several familiar ones. In the area of seating comfort, for example, Mercedes-benz has been offering a multicontour seat with massage function in some of its vehicle classes for many years. This system has been improved several times and is very advanced and comfortable. but we don’t intend to stop there, because we think that we can offer our customers even more. Additional innovations can therefore be expected in this area, and we are also working on several new climate-control features.
HYPERLINK You’ll find further information about this article at:
Isn’t there a danger that the various functions will make a car so complex that it will become difficult to operate? Although you’re right that the number of innovations is steadily increasing, this doesn’t automatically mean that the resulting complexity will make operation more difficult. After all, the innovations
daimler-technicity.com/comfort including the following features: • INTeRVIeW The car of tomorrow: Götz ReNNeR, of the Center for Society, Vehicle Concepts, and Human-Machine Interaction at Daimler, explains how
also include new ergonomic concepts and operating systems that enable users to conveniently operate a whole range of functions. our experts have put a lot of their expertise into developing such systems as well.
comfortable products are created • BACKGROUND A brilliant feat: The Mercedes-benz multicontour seat has had a massage function since 1998 • CHRONICLe Comfort yesterday, today, and tomorrow: A tour through the history of automotive innovations
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teXt Joachim WEBER
The history of mankind has always also been the story of light. Technology and culture have developed wherever people have succeeded in controlling and managing light. Now, with the introduction of light-emitting diodes (LED) and digital light control systems into our everyday lives today, lighting has also ďŹ nally become intelligent.
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Led FAcAde The facade of the Galleria Fashion mall in Seoul, South Korea, is a huge lighting system and one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions. The facade’s fully automatic, dynamic light control system is still considered a milestone of lighting design.
15,000 digitAL MuLtiPLeXers (dMX) That’s how many channels control the dynamic LED facade lighting system.
16,000,000 diFFerent coLors That’s the number of colors that can be created with four different LEDs.
4,340 gLAss disKs Thousands of diodes are installed behind the dazzling surface.
MACROSCOPe hoW does An Led WorK? In its basic structure, an LED is a semiconductor diode, a compo-
Silicone lens
nent that allows an electric current to flow in only one direction. It
LED chip
essentially consists of three layers: a positive layer, a negative layer,
TVS
and a junction layer. LEDs differ from “normal” diodes in terms of
Phosphor layer
the type of semiconductor material they use. The latter usually con-
Bond layer
sist of silicon, while LEDs are made of various gallium compounds
metal interconnect layer
that are particularly well suited for turning electrical energy into
ceramic substrate
light. If an electric current is applied to the semiconductor, the surplus electrons of the positively charged layer offset the shortage of
Thermal pad
electrons in the junction layer, releasing energy in the form of light.
cathode
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BIG CITY LIGHTS MICROSCOPe nAturAL coLor teMPerAture
520 530
The color of LED headlights is very 540
510
similar to that of daylight, which is why 550
it conforms to what people are used to seeing. Tests have confirmed that the
560
closer the color of artificial light is to
570 500
that of daylight, the less strenuous it is
580 halogen light (2.800 K) Xenon light (4.200 K) Led light (5.500 K) daylight (6.500 K) 490
for the eyes. As shown by the color 590
space, the color temperature of LED 600 610 620 630 650 700–750
light (5,500 kelvin) is closer to that of daylight (6,500 K) than that of xenon light (4,200 K).
480 470 460 450
400–380
highLights oF eVerydAy LiFe LEDs have been around for quite a while, appearing, for example, in the red numeric displays of pocket calculators from the 1970s. In fact, LEDs are now to be found everywhere in our daily lives, without most of us really noticing it — they are used for the background lighting of cell phone displays, television sets, and computer screens, as well as for transmitting the signals of remote controls, displaying the letters and images in highway signal bridges, and serving as pixels in the huge screens used for public viewing. LEDs are also ubiquitous in today’s motor vehicles, where between 200 and 600 of the devices are used for everything from taillights and turn signals to the innumerable small signal lamps in a car’s interior and in the dashboard displays. What’s more, LEDs are now also found in the latest headlights. Lighting design LEDs also provide substantial benefits in this area. competing automakers offer partial solutions, but Daimler has stayed true to its principle of building on previous successes without sacrificing comfort and safety. “We developed our LED headlights so that they could immediately offer all the benefits that our customers
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enjoy with the previous xenon technology,” says Uwe Kostanzer, Head of Light System Development at Daimler, in describing the task that he and his colleagues faced. The system’s development was completed in just 26 months, including the time needed to create the design. The new dynamic LED headlight, which will make its market debut this year in a new model mercedes-Benz coupe, is celebrating its world premiere as a new kind of interactive system that promises to further improve safety. The headlight contains all the features that are found in the familiar Intelligent Light System: the country mode, which provides superior illumination of the driver’s side of the lane, compared to what conventional low-beam headlights offer; the highway mode, which illuminates the full width of the lane and increases visibility by 50 meters at speeds over 90 km/h; the expanded fog light function, which directs more light to the sides of the lane; the active light function, which adjusts the headlights to follow the steering movements, extending visibility by 35 meters; and, lastly, the active cornering light function, which provides additional illumination for the indicated driving direction.
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WAter toWer in JyVÄsKyLÄ Halogen lamps are combined with programmable and colorvariable LEDs.
Bridge in JyVÄsKyLÄ At night, the 480 meter long Kuokkala Bridge is bathed in white and blue light.
AWArd-Winning Light The city of Jyväskylä, Finland, received the 2009 city.people.light award for its city of Lights project. The award recognizes municipal lighting concepts and is presented each year by Phillips and the Lighting Urban community International Association.
The light specialists at mercedes-Benz have also succeeded in linking the LED technology with Adaptive Highbeam Assist, which uses a windshield-mounted camera to continuously and automatically brighten and dim the headlights, this increases and reduces the range of the high beams in relation to the distance to a preceding or oncoming vehicle. What makes LEDs particularly attractive for automotive engineers is that they will make it possible to use electronics and software in place of many of the movable mechanisms found in today’s systems. The cornering light function, which still needs servomotors to move the headlights in response to the driver’s steering movements, is a good example of this. In the future, the xenon lamps will be replaced by LED arrays featuring a matrix of more than 80 high-performance light-emitting diodes, each of which will point in a different direction and be individually controllable. The individual diodes will then only have to be dimmed or turned off and on in order to achieve all the required light effects. Lastly, LEDs will also enable the automotive engineers to reduce energy consumption, because the new headlights will only consume
about 30 watts compared to around 130 watts today. And the engineers at mercedes-Benz have developed an LED daytime driving lamp that only consumes four watts, compared to the current 38 watts. Kostanzer believes the new LED headlights are just the beginning. “The current LED headlight contains 353 individual parts, which means it is considerably more complex than its xenon counterpart,” he explains. “It has to become more efficient and less complex, and that’s why our goal is to simplify the system and increase its degree of integration.” thinKing Light yeArs AheAd The LED headlight is therefore destined to undergo a process of rapid development and change. At the same time, the development engineers have to make sure there is a certain amount of continuity. “We have to think far ahead with our designs,” says Kostanzer. “That’s because the LEDs we are now installing in cars probably won’t exist anymore five years from now. Despite that, we will have to continue to provide spare parts for today’s vehicles. That’s a completely different situation compared to today’s incandescent lamp, which we have used for more than 40 years.”
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INTELLIGENT LIGHT SYSTEM
DIAlOGUe uwe KostAnZer Head of Light System Development at Daimler
How do LED headlights improve safety and sustainability? Today’s LED lights last for more than 10,000 hours, which is more than five times longer than xenon lamps. As a result, the lights generally don’t have to be replaced during the vehicle’s service life. These advanced lighting systems already have an energy efficiency comparable to that of xenon lamps, and the LEDs we now have in series development will very soon save about 100 watts compared to conventional systems. LED lights fundamentally improve safety because of their color, which is very similar to that of daylight and therefore is easy on the eyes. Only about 20 percent of driving takes place at night, but 40 percent of fatal accidents happen during those hours.
What makes LEDs special is that they are semiconductor products — a kind of “chip” with a structure and mode of production far more similar to that of memory chips and computer processors than to that of conventional light sources like incandescent lamps, fluorescent tubes, and other types of discharge lamps. The only thing LEDs have in common with conventional lamps is that they glow. LEDs also are becoming steadily brighter, and high-performance versions can now even replace their conventional rivals in demanding roles. LEDs also offer other advantages: They can be dimmed and switched on and off very quickly, and their light is directional from the very start. Depending on the semiconductor material used, the chip creates light of different colors across a broad range of the spectrum, without requiring a filter. It can even shine in the ultraviolet range. Examples of this include the small UV lamps that dentists use to harden composite resin fillings. LEDs are also appealing because of their small size. A “big” chip measures only one square millimeter without its transparent plastic housing, which protects the lamp and often serves as a lens as well. And last but not least, the LED has a much longer service life than most of its competitors, lasting about 50,000 hours on average, with the duration depending on the temperature, application, and the intensity of the current. Wolfgang Lex, Vice President LED at Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH, is also convinced that the performance of the microlamps will be substantially boosted in the future. “Today’s high-performance LEDs have an output of 100 lumens/watt, and some are even at 150 lumens/watt. These outputs will increase further in the foreseeable future,” Lex says. A lumen is a unit indicating the amount of visible light emitted by a light source per second, while luminous efficacy is the ratio of this quantity of light to the total amount of energy used, and is therefore expressed as lumen/watt (lm/W). A candle produces about 0.1 lm/W, a 60 watt light bulb about 12 lm/W, and a similarly bright 15 watt energy-efficient lamp about 60 lm/W. Old and new technology headlights still have very similar performance, with Daimler’s new full-LED headlight generating 17 lm/W, just like the current xenon lamps. However, engineers estimate that LED headlights will achieve 35 lm/W by 2014. 92
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How do the new full-LED headlights help to improve the level of safety enjoyed by the driver and other road users? These are the world’s first full-LED headlights to feature all the dynamic light functions that are standard for xenon systems today. This world premiere once again demonstrates mercedes-Benz’ technological leadership in lighting systems. With this innovation, we are for the first time combining dynamic headlight safety features such as the cornering light function and Adaptive Highbeam Assist with the greater safety provided by using a light color similar to that of daylight. Is Adaptive Highbeam Assist more of a comfort function or a safety feature? It’s both. It is a comfort function in the sense that it further reduces driver stress, since motorists have to concern themselves with one less system. We are of course considerably improving safety as well, because we are automatically providing the right quantity and distribution of light. It enables drivers to concentrate more on the traffic situation, while also improving visibility. This is because Adaptive Highbeam Assist increases the use of high beams in night driving by an average of three percent, to 53 percent. When will the new headlight system be introduced in all passenger car models? Our philosophy is to introduce innovations whenever they provide customers with added value. This is now the case with LED headlights, and you can rest assured that the new full-LED headlights are just the beginning of what we have planned in this area. T
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dynAMic FuLL-Led heAdLights FroM Mercedes-BenZ
turn signAL indicAtor (13 LEDs) Stationary. stAndArd LoW-BeAM heAdLight (8 LEDs) Standard stationary.
cornering Light (2 LEDs) Stationary sidemounted light controlled by steering angle and turn signal activation. It switches between high beam and low beam at speeds below 70 km/h.
PArKing Light (22 LEDs) Stationary.
night VieW (10 LEDs) Infrared light
high BeAM (8 LEDs) In combination with a
source for the night-vision camera.
night-vision camera, it responds to preceding or LoW-BeAM sPotLight (8 LEDs) In the current version, an electromechanical system still
oncoming vehicles, enabling it to automatically switch between low and high beams.
moves the cornering light in response to the steering angle.
inteLLigent Light controL The headlights of the new
Pioneering design The taillights also feature the latest LED
mercedes-Benz cLS dim in time and automatically increase
technology with a futuristic design.
luminosity when necessary.
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CHRONICle 1907 Using a carborundum crystal, the British scientist Henry Joseph Round discovers that solids can give off light if an electric current is passed through them. 1921 The Russian physicist Oleg Wladimirowitsch Lossev rediscovers this light-emitting effect. Until 1942, he investigates this property more
interior design Atmospheric interior
thoroughly, with the aim of using the new
lighting with night and day simulation in
light source for transmitting information. His
the new Airbus A380.
efforts remain unsuccessful. 1951 The rise of semiconductor physics following the discovery and development of the transis-
Medicine Light therapy and healing, light-induced
tor makes it possible to satisfactorily explain
moods at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in
the light emissions.
Harlow, England.
1962 A mixed crystal of gallium arsenide and gallium phosphide creates a breakthrough — the first red light-emitting diode is launched on the market. 1971 New semiconductor materials make the colors green, orange, and yellow possible, while LED efficiency is improved. 1993 Shuji Nakamura of Japan presents a very bright blue LED. It is the first blue LED to be commercially successful. 1997 Two years after they were first presented, the first LEDs to produce a white light through the admixture of luminous substances (phosphor) are launched on the market.
design Zaha Hadid design realized
2006 LED developers cross an important threshold by presenting the world’s first light-emitting
with LED lights from Zumtobel Lighting
diode that produces 100 lumens per watt.
GmbH.
BotAny LED applications for botanical labs of NASA’s outer space plant cultivation program.
Art LED sculpture by the British artist Nick
Architecture LED lighting for the
Gilmoore.
dome of the PUB department store in Stockholm, Sweden.
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DELIGHTFUL APPLICATIONS Big city Lights The range of potential LED applications is growing as their luminous intensity increases. Experts are predicting that LEDs will not only become more common in automobiles, but will also be used more frequently for general lighting purposes in homes, offices, public buildings, and public spaces. General lighting applications will play a crucial role in expanding the world market for high-performance LEDs, from slightly over $ 5 billion in 2008 to almost $15 billion in 2013. The world of lighting will change dramatically as a result, given that the flat, tiny LED lamps generate a new quality of light that will allow us to choose between a setting close to daylight, for our workstation or on the road, and a yellowish-warm glow for a cozy corner. As is the case with the car headlight, LEDs make entirely new lamp designs possible for general lighting. They don’t necessarily require new designs, however, and can be retrofitted into the conventional E-27 light sockets of familiar old lamps. People shouldn’t look too closely at prices yet, though. Retrofitted lamps also suggest that LEDs are only suitable for replacing conventional light sources. This, however, fails to take into account the fact that LED technology creates completely new design possibilities. Light-emitting diodes allow us to solve problems in entirely new ways — not only in cars, but also in consumer electronics and communications. other highLights Interactive approaches have now also captured the imagination of such level-headed people as urban planners and lighting engineers. Picture the following scene, for example: Late in the evening, a man and his dog go out the door into a dimly illuminated street to take the day’s last walk around the block. No sooner have they stepped onto the sidewalk, than the lights brighten in both directions out to a distance of 100 meters. The lights then follow the duo as they briskly walk along their usual route. When a car approaches, the “street lights” keep pace with the vehicle, brightening in front of it to improve visibility for the driver. The lamps focus in particular on the pedestrian and his dog, so the driver is made aware of potential dangers. As the vehicle advances, the lights behind it become dimmer once again. This scene is no longer just the stuff of visions: motion sensors are already making it possible today for the lights to brighten in the List district of the city of Hanover, Germany. Adaptive street lighting that reacts not only to motion — but also to different levels of brightness, weather conditions, traffic density, or special traffic situations — can currently be found, however, only in the context of a development project supported by various government agencies, including the German states and the EU (E-Street project). And many cities, including Dublin, Oslo, and Getafe in the madrid metropolitan area, have launched their own tests. most of the components that are needed for such projects already exist, ranging from networking technology and computers to LED light sources whose performance reached adequate levels around two years ago. The only problem that still remains to be solved are the sensors, which need to be improved and become less expensive.
LEDs will replace mercury vapor lamps in particular, which will no longer be permitted beginning in 2015, although they are still found in 30 to 35 percent of Germany’s street lights. The old lamps are being phased out not only because they contain poisonous mercury, but because the LEDs consume less than half as much electricity at the same luminous flux. LEDs are also less costly to maintain, can be dimmed without affecting service life, and don’t need a start-up time before they achieve full luminosity. In addition, a test conducted in an actual street by the Laboratory of Lighting Technology at Darmstadt Technical University showed that people prefer LED light, which is similar to normal daylight, over conventional street lights. And they particularly favor it over the yellowish sodium vapor lamps that are still permitted. Leds in the sPotLight To demonstrate all these advantages and overcome the municipalities’ reluctance to buy LED lamps due to their high cost, the German Research ministry is organizing the nationwide competition “New light on cities.” For this purpose, the ministry is supporting ten German cities that are working on different concepts for using LEDs in street lighting. According to Thomas Kuhn, an expert for street lighting at Darmstadt Technical University’s Laboratory of Lighting Technology, this approach is a key to gaining more experience. LEDs are ushering in a new era for street lighting, which began to switch from oil to gas lamps in the early 19th century, and to electric lamps from the 1880s onward. LEDs also represent a huge step forward for automotive lighting, which previously made big advances with bilux lamps, halogen lamps, and xenon headlights. The development becomes especially apparent when you look at the history of automotive lighting over the past 120 years. It began in the last quarter of the 19th century with candle lanterns featuring designs and mountings adapted from what was used on stagecoaches. A minor improvement was achieved with reflector-equipped carbide lamps that generated their own acetylene gas. The first mercedes with battery-powered electric headlights did not appear until 1910, or almost exactly 100 years before the first mercedes-Benz cLS with LED headlights.
HYPeRlINK You’ll find further information related to this article at: daimler-technicity.com/light including the following features: • interVieW “High Requirements for Use in cars”: A talk with Wolfgang LEX, Vice President at the lightning manufacturer Osram • BAcKground Adaptive street lightning: Sensors respond to the needs of their surroundings • BAcKground No side effects: LEDs are also used in the field of medicine • BAcKground Light meets art: From throwies to glowing sculptures
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DIGITAL
www.daimler-technicity.com FeatUres You can find background information, videos,
iN a FractioN oF a secoND
photo galleries, and lots more about the themes covered in this issue at: www.daimler-technicity.com
How important are crash tests for improving safety?
leD tHere be liGHt
How are leDs changing the way we see?
SAFety FirSt: An extensive photo gallery of the Mercedes-Benz crash hall in sindelfingen, south-Germany.
daimler-technicity.com/crash pHoto Gallery safety first: An extensive gallery of images of the Mercedes-Benz crash hall. iNterVieW “We don’t rely only on the computer”: Rodolfo sCHöNEBuRG, Head of Passive safety and Vehicle functions at Daimler, on topics ranging from crash tests to safety optimization. ViDeo Demonstration using a drivable vehicle: The Experimental safety Vehicle (Esf). bacKGroUND facts and figures: Detailed information on the Mercedes-Benz crash hall.
Led FACAde: The facade of the Galleria fashion Mall in seoul, south korea, is a huge lighting system.
daimler-technicity.com/light iNterVieW “High Requirements for use in Cars”: A talk with Wolfgang LEx, Vice President at the lightning manufacturer OsRAM. bacKGroUND Adaptive street lightning: sensors respond to the needs of their surroundings. bacKGroUND No side effects: LEDs are also used in the field of medicine. bacKGroUND Light meets art: from throwies to glowing sculptures.
Hyperlocal mobility
How will the mobility systems of tomorrow work? FUel cell FUtUre
Will hydrogen be the key to a third industrial revolution?
Find it, open it, drive it: Daimler’s car2go project is intelligently bridging the gap between the needs of urban living and city people’s mobility preferences.
A pioneer: The social economist Jeremy RIfkIN talks about the role of hydrogen in the energy network of the future.
daimler-technicity.com/car2go ViDeo Making mobility easy: Behind the scenes at car2go. bacKGroUND Hyperlocality: When virtual and real worlds merge. iNterVieW “We are writing our own rules”: Jérôme GuILLEN, Director of Business Innovation at Daimler, talks about mobile networks. cHroNicle A success story: The history of the smart.
daimler-technicity.com/fuelcell iNterVieW Is hydrogen the key to the third Industrial Revolution? A conversation with Jeremy RIfkIN, founder and President of the foundation on Economic Trends (fOET). bacKGroUND The H2 solution: Handling hydrogen safely. bacKGroUND funding and supporting fuel cells: The e-mobility initiative. pHoto Gallery fuel cell stack production in Vancouver, Canada.
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IMPRINT AND CONTACT Publisher Daimler AG, Communications, Stuttgart, Germany For the publisher: Mirjam Bendak Publication manager: Matthias Steybe Online presence: Benjamin Oberkersch international sales: Uwe Haspel
Online sPeCial You won’t find these and related articles in the printed magazine. But they are available as regular digital updates at: www.daimler-technicity.com
editing and design design hoch drei GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, Germany Creative director: Wolfram Schäffer editor in chief: Matthias Straub editors: Kai-Holger Eisele, Anna Gallecker, Dr. Thomas Giesefeld, Stefan Häusler, Pia Theresa Hoffmann, Franziska Nitsche, Bastian Steineck authors: Rüdiger Abele, Martin Fritz, Steffan Heuer, Philipp Jarke, Andreas Kunkel, Peter Thomas, Joachim Weber, Stephan Wengenroth Proofreading: Andrew Leslie art director: Helmut Kirsten design: Lisa Jung, Sandra Kühefuss, Simone Schwarz Photography: Gert Albrecht (Illustration), Julia Baier, Daniel Classen (Illustration), Kurt Henseler, Stefan Hohloch, Sascha Pfläging translation: TransForm GmbH, Cologne, Germany
autOMated driving
what will vehicle safety look like in the future?
PrOduCtiOn & sales reprographics: Dr. Cantz’sche Druckerei GmbH & Co. KG, Ostfildern, Germany Printing: Stark Druck GmbH & Co. KG, Pforzheim, Germany sales: Zenit Pressevertrieb GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany COntaCt & reader serviCe Zenit Pressevertrieb GmbH, Postfach 81 05 80, 70522 Stuttgart, Germany Tel. +49 711-72 52 - 268 Fax +49 711-72 52 - 399 e-mail: reader-service@daimler-technicity.com Online: www.zenit-presse.de TesTing meThods: Autopilots test critical situations on the threshold to tomorrow’s safe driving concepts.
Daimler AG, Communications, 70546 Stuttgart, Germany Fax +49 711-17-790-95251 e-mail: contact@daimler-technicity.com Online: www.daimler-technicity.com/contact
daimler-technicity.com/ad baCKgrOund Autopilots: The next generation of assistance systems. videO Extremes: Simulations of driving maneuvers that impact safety. PhOtO gallery Under control: On the road to accident-free driving.
design hoch drei GmbH & Co. KG, Glockenstr. 36, 70376 Stuttgart, Germany Tel. +49 711-55 03 77 30 Fax +49 711-55 03 77 55 e-mail: marzena.schneider@design-hoch-drei.de Online: www.design-hoch-drei.de advertising advertising manager: Marzena Schneider, design hoch drei GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, Germany Media data: www.daimler-technicity.com/mediakit
news Channel
innovation news online International trend scouts and science journalists report on the latest developments in the areas of mobility, technology, and innovation.
daimler-technicity.com/news
weeKly web CheCK
link of the week In the Weekly Web Check you can find exciting photo galleries, innovative microsites, and updated websites from the fields of science and technology.
daimler-technicity.com/wwc
PiCture Credits P. 6/73/88/89 © Christian Richters, P. 9/23 Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, P. 22 Yumi Hoshino, P. 23 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, P. 24 Stanford News Service, P. 25 © Fotolia, P. 26 Novacem, P. 27 Christian Förg — Lumod Design, P. 36 NASA, P. 41 The Linde Group, P. 53 AFCC, P. 54/96 © Ulf Andersen/Getty Images, P. 56/57/58 © Corbis, P. 59 ECADI, P. 80 Apple Inc., P. 90/90 Philips, P. 94 Airbus, NASA, Philips, wissenschaft-shop.de, Courtesy of Zumtobel Lightning COPyright Reproduction and use, including excerpts, only with the express written authorization of Daimler AG. No liability will be accepted for unsolicited submissions of texts and/or images. Reports with bylines do not necessarily represent the opinion of the publisher or the editorial team. No liability is assumed in respect of information regarding appointments and equipment. Binding information and prices are contained in the respectively valid official sales information from Daimler AG. All other information in this publication is also provided to the best of our knowledge and belief, but without any liability. TECHNICITY appears twice a year in German and English editions. Number 2, 1st year 2010 ISSN: 2190-0523 © daimler ag 2010 daiMler-teChniCity.COM
A publication of Daimler AG
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H2 HIGH FAIR AND SUNNY Today’s forecast is tomorrow’s weather. According to a prognosis by the GermanHy project, around 70 percent of all passenger cars and light commercial vehicles may be using hydrogen as an energy storage medium by 2050. The outlook for alternative drive systems is promising in other areas as well. In some regions there are still light winds, fog is forming in places, and locally there may even be scattered short showers. But the clouds will soon dissipate. After all, they consist of pure water vapor.
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A Daimler Brand
• Kunde: Mercedes-Benz
The future comes standard.
• Jung v. Matt
• 216 x 279 mm
The C-Class BlueEFFICIENCY is the most efficient C-Class we have ever built. Thanks to its innovative engine technology it is both more economical and more powerful. BlueEFFICIENCY is our way to emission-free mobility. Now available in over 85 Mercedes-Benz models. Fast forward to tomorrow. www.mercedes-benz.com/blueefficiency
Water Will be the Coal of the future “the energy of tomorrow will be water that has been split by an electric current. the elements, hydrogen and oxygen, thus recovered from the water will provide the earth’s energy supply for an unforeseeable time to come.” Jules Verne (from: The Mysterious Island, 1874)
Our BlueEFFICIENCY models: C 200 CDI, C 220 CDI, C 250 CDI, C 250 CDI 4MATIC, C 350 CDI, C 350 CDI 4MATIC, C 180 CGI, C 200 CGI, C 250 CGI, C 350 CGI. Fuel consumption combined: 4.4–8.9 l/100 km; combined CO₂ emissions: 117–208 g/km. Figures do not relate to the specific emissions or fuel consumption of any individual vehicle, do not form part of any offer and are intended solely to aid comparison between different types of vehicle.
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MaGaZiNe for iNNoVatioN teChNoloGY MobilitY
ISSUe 02 2010
TECHNICITY MAGAZINE FOR INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY MOBILITY
TECHNICITY
FUEL CELL FUTURE Never before has fuel cell technology been so close to integrated use in series-produced vehicles.
TECHNICITY MAGAZINE iSSN 2190-0523
FOR
A publication of Daimler AG © Stuttgart 2010
U1-U4_T_Cover_E_AK1.indd 1
MobilitY CoNCePtS
iNNoVatioN ProCeSSeS
Why new mobility concepts are helping to improve the traffic situation in major cities.
How comfort can be measured — and how customers help shape innovation processes in companies.
iNtelliGeNt liGht
iDea MaNaGeMeNt
How intelligent lighting technologies are enhancing safety and a sense of well-being.
Why modern idea and patent management is indispensable for companies today.
INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY MOBILITY
ISSUE 02 2010
6.50 9.00 10.00 6.00 60.50
EUR USD CHF GBP CNY
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