Daimler South East Asia successfully ends testing alternative energies

In August 2008, Daimler South East Asia introduced a first-ever test comprising of 10 smart "fortwo" city cars in petrol and diesel versions to test alternative fuels in real life conditions.

Singapore was the only test site worldwide for this comprehensive field test and had been selected because of infrastructural reasons, governmental support and the country’s green initiatives and commitment to support green technologies.

After 11 month of intensive testing, Daimler South East Asia successfully ends the project with tangible results. The maximum length of the test period was targeted to 2 years – however sufficient data collected made it possible to end the project earlier which is a benefit in economically challenging times.

The test fleet consisted of 5 petrol cars (4 mild hybrid versions) and 5 diesel cars. The test fleet also had a variety of 4 Coupes and 6 Convertibles.

The testing of the smart petrol cars focused on the new hybrid technology and the diesel versions on new fuels such as Jatropha plant-based biodiesel and Gas to Liquids (GTL) synthetic diesel fuel.

The smart test fleet was on everyday use in Singapore with the aim of comparing fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. The smart fleet had been specifically selected because the city-car concept was the most suitable application and standard smart vehicles had been already awarded with many environmental credentials.

To ensure the optimal use of the vehicles and to test a variety of driving applications and broad driving experiences, Daimler South East Asia involved partners to operate the vehicles, such as

- A*Star SINERGY Centre
- Cargill Asia Pacific Holdings Pte Limited (two vehicles)
- Economic Development Board (EDB)
- Green Energy Trading (GET)
- Siemens Pte Ltd
- SIM University (UniSIM)
- Singapore Environment Council (SEC)
- Thyssen Steel

The findings of the testing were very encouraging. All vehicles operated well in Singapore’s tropical climate and city-traffic conditions, regardless of the fuel used. There was no change in engine performance and vehicle reliability. Apparently there are no visible effects when conventional diesel was replaced with either Jathropha blend biodiesel or GTL fuel.

The diesel fueled vehicles had a significant increase in output torque ( 12 to 17 % ) after the engines were run-in. The micro hybrid petrol vehicles had a slightly better fuel economy that the standard petrol car. Benefits in fuel economy are noticeable in extreme stop-n-go traffic situations. All vehicles together drove nearly 100,000 km in the 11-month testing.

Wolfgang Huppenbauer, President & CEO Daimler South East Asia commented: "We are continuously testing alternative fuels and various engine configurations in our Research and Technology facilities. We are proud that we can contribute tangible results out of the project here in Singapore."

"At Daimler, we take environmental issues very seriously and we pro-actively work towards improvements and viable and imaginative solutions. The Mercedes-Benz technology behind this initiative is reliable, sustainable and trend-setting. We intend to do more than merely reduce CO2 emissions – we are pursuing a holistic approach that extends to all relevant aspects of the entire life-cycle of a vehicle."

"The smart test fleet clearly showed, that driving an environmental friendly vehicle is fun and trendy. The smart fleet is ideal for traffic-dense cities such as Singapore and other global cities. For example in Paris, Rome and Tokyo the smart vehicles already enjoy cult status. We do look forward to bring other test vehicles to Singapore in the near future, specifically E-vehicles, as the Singapore government is encouraging and supporting such testing within their ‘ green initiatives’."

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Credits: JRC