Mercedes Concept eSprinter Sustaineer: Deliver Sustainably
Mercedes Benz Vans has introduced a technology carrier for a sustainable city transporter based on the eSprinter. With the so-called Sprinter Sustaineer, the manufacturer has implemented various additional ideas alongside the fully electric drive that aim to make the vehicle ideal for city delivery. Environmental considerations include a fine dust filter active both while driving and charging at the front module, as well as a passive collector in the underbody that captures vehicle-own and foreign particles.
Fine Dust: The Van that Cleans Up After Itself
Speaking of which, the vehicle's own fine dust, including that from the brake discs, is intended to be reduced per se using ceramic coating; moreover, fuel-efficient tires are designed to be particularly abrasion-resistant. Anyway, the electric vehicle tends to decelerate less using the operational brake, and often relies on recuperation in everyday scenarios. In total, they aim to collect up to 50 percent of the particles emitted by the vehicle together with the filter specialist Mann + Hummel, with the system consuming minimal additional energy. Naturally, the concept then includes regular interval changes for the filter. Of course, the interior air will also be filtered separately. They achieve almost HEPA-quality, boasts a representative of the Swabian filter specialist, who had illustrated a similar concept years ago with a StreetScooter Work.
Potentially Relevant for Euro-7 Standards
The filter feature could also become relevant if the Euro-7 standards specifications consider total vehicle emissions, not just those from the engine. According to Mann + Hummel, exhaust emissions account for only about twelve percent of fine dust emissions; about one-third each is attributed to tire and brake abrasion and the general accumulation of road dust. Moreover, the system works more effectively the worse the ambient air quality is.
Light Moments: Drawing Energy While Standing
On the roof of the vehicle, solar panels developed in collaboration with Fraunhofer ISE are installed, which in the e-van should provide up to an additional 1,000 kilometers, and in the best case, in southern regions even up to 3,800 kilometers. The extremely flat solar modules seamlessly integrate into the roof contour, replacing the metal sheets and are glued to the roof braces, producing energy even when the ignition is turned off. Above the cabin, they are inserted in a 3D form into a cutout in the metal sheet. Unlike the Munich-based solar car specialist Sono Motors, the monocrystalline cells are not embedded in smooth resin but in an externally ribbed surface, increasing the efficiency to 22.3 percent. The modules cover 4.8 m² and could also be extended to the sides and rear. However, one must consider the weight, which is approximately 1.5 times that of the respective metal sheet, reducing the payload accordingly.
Challenging Production After Solar Industry Sell-Off
A bottleneck here is more on the production side: After the exodus of the solar industry, it is difficult to find a domestic producer with the appropriate scaling competence for the modules, says a responsible party. Nevertheless, this feature could be included as an option in the next e-Sprinter if the production issue is resolved. After all, energy could be collected for the batteries while the vehicle is stationary, making a business case, the engineer promotes. Speaking of bright ideas: the driver’s well-being is supported by a “Daylight+” light module integrated into the sun visor, designed to mimic daylight and keep the driver attentive for longer.
Value Creation Cycle Instead of a Chain
Additionally, special materials in the vehicle are intended to illustrate the idea of the circular economy: These materials come from recycling or renewable resources, from the cabin with a steering wheel made of bioplastics, the cargo area with panels made of straw boards and recycled polypropylene, to the underbody with soundproofing made from textile fibers from old car tires. The grand goal: Moving away from the much-cited value chain to a value creation cycle. The Swabians claim nothing less than the decoupling of resource consumption from sales growth.
Durable: The battery is designed to be repairable in segments
If a damage occurs to one of the drive batteries, the manufacturer plans to address this with a repair concept. This will be gradually introduced from the second half of 2022, targeting individual cell failures within a battery to extend the battery's lifecycle before it enters its "second life," for example, as a home storage unit.
Well-known but further refined is the concept of close-to-the-body heating, which is intended to relieve the onboard heating system and thereby increase range. Now, not only the steering wheel, but also the seatbelt – in three levels and coupled with seat heating – will be heated, following the example of Benz cars. Additionally, the climate control system operates in zones and first heats the area around the driver to save energy.
Instead of mirrors: Camera lenses save fuel and enhance visibility
As already available in series in the Actros truck flagship, the concept of camera mirrors is now being transferred to the transporter class, also in cooperation with mirror specialist Mekra Lang. The rearview mirrors, in the form of two ultra-thin OLED screens adhered to the windshield, are designed to cover a larger field of view and save fuel through improved aerodynamics. This should save three to four percent energy in the WLTP cycle, including the energy consumption of the OLEDs.
Additionally, the system weighs two kilograms less than mechanical mirrors. Known from the Vito, the digital interior mirror is supplemented here by a cargo cam, which can be activated as a segment and projects an image of the cargo area into the field of view. The "hybrid" system can also be used as a "normal" mirror via the dimming button. These systems are also expected to provide an even better image than their "analog" counterparts, even at night.
Instead of Shoulder Check: OLED Screen in the Cargo Area
Additionally, a "Sidewalk Monitor," a side camera coupled with an additional display in the cargo area, provides more visibility when getting out. This happens optionally through the so-called "Speed Delivery Door." It is sensor-controlled, opens and closes automatically and very quickly with a light barrier impulse, and is also significantly quieter than a normal sliding door, a goodie that the manufacturer has demonstrated several times and which is already available as an option for panel vans in the Sprinter. At most, the step into the cargo area is somewhat high, but this fate is shared by the Sustaineer-Sprinter with its front-wheel-drive siblings.
Next Steps: eSprinter Generation II Coming in 2023
However, it is still unclear if and when the additional features will make it into production. The next steps, as Mercedes-Benz Vans chief Marcus Breitschwerdt has hinted, are the launch of the improved and "versatile" E-platform of the eSprinter in the second half of 2023 and the start of a completely independently developed E-Van architecture "from the middle of the decade," as it is said. Then some of the clever goodies could become "state of the art." And they should: After all, Mercedes-Benz aims to be climate-neutral across the entire value chain, including production and recycling, by 2039. Or better said: value cycle. As Breitschwerdt stated, "Sustainability is more than just a zero-emission vehicle."
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