Mercedes Conceptualizes Solar Paint

By Roselin Dey

One of the first car brands that comes to mind when we think of luxury and style is Mercedes. In fact, so much has the brand’s popularity grown over the past few years, that it overtook BMW with the sales crown in the luxury auto segment in 2013.

And now, Mercedes might just bring about the next revolution in sustainable mobility.

Imagine a car with an innovative paint job that can enable it to run on solar as well as wind energy. Well, this could possibly come true with the latest concept car by Mercedes, unveiled in Beijing earlier this month at the opening of a new research and development center.

This innovative concept car, Mercedes Vision G Code, boasts a conventional electric motor (powering the back wheel), as well as a hydrogen combustion engine (powering the front wheel). The electric motor powering the back wheel can be charged by kinetic generators in the brakes and shock absorbers, while the hydrogen motor produces only water in the name of emissions. The water generated as a byproduct can be close-looped back to create more hydrogen, and the oxygen gas created can be pumped inside the car for the passengers to freshen the interiors.

But the feather in the cap is that the hydrogen fuel need not be bought at through-the-roof prices but instead can be created by the unique multi-voltaic paint job of the car.

Now consider this: When the car brakes to a halt, the shock absorbers and the brakes charge the batteries in the rear wheel; and the multi-voltaic paint helps capture electrostatic wind power for hydrogen generation (in the front wheel). And all the while -- whether moving or stationary -- the paint is utilizing the abundantly available solar power.

Increasing the cool visual quotient is the fact that the prominently visible front display glows blue when the car is stationary, red in sports mode and purple during relaxed driving.

As the number of conscious consumers is growing worldwide, more and more leading auto brands have been offering variants for green cars -- either manufactured with fewer materials or smarter engines with lower emissions (and hence smaller environmental footprint) or electrically charged (hence using less or no direct fossil fuels).

A quick peek at the U.S. EPA website shows that approximately $11.4 billion has been saved so far by consumers who have already purchased new vehicles under the fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards.

Although it is yet to be seen whether such a revolutionary concept car would actually hit the roads, it is heartening that leading automakers are spending millions on such forward-thinking research and technology. The hope is that some of these ideas are applied in the years to come to roll out the next generation of smart cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BrFD8KQ750

Do you own a environment friendly car? What has been your experience?

Image credit: Mercedes Benz

Roselin Dey works as a sustainability consultant in the Market Access and Insights Team of a strategic management and consulting firm in India. She specializes in research and analysis, strategic consulting, program management and communication in the area of corporate sustainability. She loves discussing the sustainability vision and innovative strategies of businesses and is passionate about writing on corporate sustainability issues.