In a volatile oil market, automobile producers are scrambling to gain an edge on their competitors using technology considered purely futuristic until recently. Mike Schweizer and Rasheq Zarif of Mercedes Benz USA, LLC, gave a lecture during the energy seminar series for engineers last Friday on recent progress in the field of sustainable transportation. According to Zarif, the purpose of Mercedes’ intensive $1.7 billion research project has been to “accelerate the paradigm shift” between fuel-based and cleaner technologies.

Currently, the company has several fuel-friendly cars in mass-production: the “clean diesel” burning BlueTec GL320, R320 and ML320, two lithium ion battery-powered hybrids and the Natural Gas Technology B-series. The company said it has long-term plans to combine the hybrid and BlueTec technologies to combine the urban appeal of their hybrid models with BlueTec’s adaptations for long-range driving.

Zarif said Mercedes hopes that fuel cell technology may be able to bridge this operational gap between hybrid and BlueTec. While a fuel cell vehicle has a fuel efficiency of 250 miles per gallon, a battery-powered car gets only 65-90. Furthermore, a battery-powered vehicle would need to be charged overnight, while recharging a fuel cell could be done in only three minutes.

BlueTec vehicles contain engine technologies, sensors and catalytic converters that attempt to reduce environmentally-harmful byproducts of fuel usage — carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) and soot. Oxidizing catalysts in the engine reduce carbon monoxide emissions, while a soot-trap catches particulates.

In the E320 sedan, NO_x is stored and the Selective Catalytic Reduction catalytic converter cleans the storage catalyst. In SUV models, Mercedes has developed the AdBlue system, which includes a tank of liquid urea. When it reacts with the exhaust gas urea releases ammonia, which is in turn reacted with NO_x to produce environmentally harmless nitrogen gas and water.

In the place of a standard 12V lead acid battery, hybrids employ a lighter, more durable lithium ion battery. Cooled using the existing air conditioning system, the lithium ion unit is currently being adapted for the S500 plug-in hybrid, which will be able to run 18 miles entirely on electrical power before the engine kicks in. According to Zarif, the $86,000 vehicle will get 74 miles per gallon and will go from zero to sixty in under 60 seconds — an unusual acceleration rate for a hybrid.

Natural Gas Technology vehicles use a less modified engine system. However, there are five natural gas tanks in the car besides the normal fuel system. Using two separate fuel injectors, the driver can choose to run the vehicle either on gasoline or on natural gas. The current estimated range of the vehicle is 600 miles, a third of which is by use of pure natural gas.

Fuel cell vehicles require no oil-based fuel, combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce energy, with water as the sole byproduct. Fuel cell technology is underdeveloped in American car companies, due in part to a lack of hydrogen fueling stations nationally.

In Europe, however, Mercedes has made great strides in harvesting the potential energy of hydrogen gas. The automobile giant has even modified its bus, the Citaro, to have fuel cell capacities. Mercedes’ Fuel Cell Fleet Operations includes 100 cars globally that have together accumulated 4 million kilometers in on-road testing. Germany, the home of Mercedes’ parent company Daimler-Chrysler, plans to build hydrogen-fueling infrastructure in Germany. In 2013, fuel-cell motorists may be able to drive the 3635 miles north to south across the country.

But it’s not necessarily smooth driving for the future of fuel cell technology. The production of hydrogen gas is energy-intensive, and the components of a fuel cell car, which is lined with precious metals like platinum, can make the final product prohibitively expensive for a middle or lower class consumer.

Mercedes will be back on October 19th, along with General Motors and Toyota, to present their fuel cell models and will be giving test rides to select participants. The Fuel Cell Ride & Drive Event, sponsored by the DoE-funded Energy Frontiers Research Centers (formally the Cornell Fuel Cell Institute), will take place from 1-4 p.m at Duffield Atrium South.