1986 All Mercedes-Benz passenger cars equipped with three-way catalytic converters as standard The controlled three-way catalytic converter represents the most effective emission-control technology for passenger-car petrol engines as it transforms pollutants into non-toxic secondary compounds. Catalyst technology has been refined in recent years, especially with regard to its efficiency during the engine's cold-running phase. Mercedes-Benz diesel models are equipped with special oxidation catalysts which reduce the gaseous pollutants in the diesel exhaust flow by chemically binding them with oxygen (oxidation).
1997 Environmentally compatible disposal of end-of-life vehicles July: Official opening of the Mercedes-Benz end-of-life vehicle and parts centre (MB ATC GmbH) in Obertürkheim. In establishing this environmentally compatible end-of-life vehicle disposal centre, Daimler-Benz ensures that raw materials can be reused by maximising the extent to which used Mercedes-Benz parts are returned to the production cycle. In so doing, the Stuttgart-based car manufacturer is not only assuming a leading role in the vehicle recycling initiative which the car industry and industry associations have imposed on themselves, but is also setting new standards for recycling and environmentally compatible disposal.
1999 Paint recycling The Mercedes-Benz Düsseldorf plant has achieved a first by establishing a closed-loop recycling process in the vehicle paint facility. Overspray paint particles which miss the vehicle body during application of the second coat are recovered and reused for painting the bodies of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans. Recovery of the paint is integrated in the normal painting process. As a result, Mercedes-Benz is able to reduce its requirement for new paint by 30 tonnes a year, representing about 12 percent of this paint line's consumption. Furthermore, the line's volume of paint sludge which has to be disposed of has been reduced by 70 percent (50 tonnes). It has also been possible to eliminate almost all the associated transportation phases. The process developed in Düsseldorf proves once again that it is possible to reconcile ecological and economic goals.
2002 10 years on: progress report on the POEMA project Mercedes-Benz has been one of the driving forces behind the "Poverty and Environment in Amazonia Research and Development Programme" from the very start. The POEMA project in the Belém area has been set up to explore the possibilities for making sustainable use of the tropical rainforest in order to provide the local population with a source of income and opportunities. Deforestation, slash-and-burn clearance and over-exploitation of this priceless resource can only be prevented by presenting alternatives. Within the context of the POEMA project, small farming families harvest coconut fibre and either process it themselves or supply it to POEMAtec, the natural-fibre products company which was established in 2001. It has been found that coconut fibre is an ideal, sustainable resource for use in vehicle manufacturing. As a result, Mercedes-Benz is now using more natural fibres in its products than ever before. Coconut fibre is used in head restraints, and sun visors, as well as for padding seats and bunks in Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The project has received several awards.
2002 Conserving resources Since 1990, a number of technical measures have made it possible to reduce the annual volume of non-reusable hazardous waste generated by the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen by 99 percent, from 8000 to 84 tonnes. This reduction in the demand for resources pays off both for the environment and the company, the latter saving approx. 35 million in disposal costs. The most innovative of the diverse range of specially developed methods is the processing of paint sludge into methanol, which, in turn, can be used as a raw material in the painting process. Paint sludge accounted for some 50 percent of the total hazardous waste volume in 1990. Today, 100 percent of the paint sludge is reused.
2003 E-Class with bivalent natural-gas drive system Frankfurt Motor Show: For the first time, Mercedes-Benz presents a natural-gas-powered vehicle with a bivalent drive system based on the E 200 KOMPRESSOR: the E 200 NGT, currently the most powerful saloon powered by natural gas. Its powerful four-cylinder engine can run on natural gas or premium-grade unleaded petrol – the driver decides which fuel is to be used. The smooth, jolt-free switchover between the two fuel sources is handled by a special electronic control system. Like the E 200 KOMPRESSOR petrol-only version, the E 200 NGT complies with the stringent EU 4 emissions limits. When the vehicle is operating in natural-gas mode, emissions of carbon dioxide are reduced by more than 20 percent compared with petrol mode. With a petrol tank capacity of 65 litres and gas tanks offering a total capacity of 18 kilograms, the vehicle has an overall range of some 1000 kilometres (on the basis of NEDC consumption figures) – consisting of about 300 kilometres running on natural gas and another 700 kilometres running on petrol.
2004 Top places in "Öko-Trend" environmental rankings May: Following an intensive and detailed assessment of more than 1000 cars involving the collection of some 25,000 individual statistics, environmental institute Öko-Trend has named the Mercedes-Benz E 200 CDI, S 320 CDI and SL 500 as three of Germany's most environment-friendly cars. The environmental institute has been producing its annual environmental rankings, which provide valuable guidance for car buyers, since 1997. The analysis takes particular account of fuel consumption and emissions but also pays close attention to the economical use of resources associated with production and logistics as well as recycling and environmental management.
2005 The cleanest and most environment-friendly diesel At the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz underscores its commitment to the development and introduction of synthetic diesel fuel from biomass, known as "SunDiesel". Within the two-stage production process, the characteristics of this fuel can be influenced and thus optimally adapted to the requirements of the next generation of high-performance engines. The aim of the Mercedes-Benz researchers is to enhance the performance of diesel engines by means of new combustion processes and newly designed injectors while also drastically reducing the emissions from these already economical power units even further.
2005 All Mercedes-Benz diesel passenger cars equipped with particulate filters as standard since July The world's first passenger car with a diesel particulate filter was a Mercedes-Benz which was delivered in California 20 years ago. Today, Mercedes-Benz is the world's first car manufacturer to equip all its diesel passenger cars with a maintenance-free particulate filter as standard. This move means that all the diesel models, from the A to the S-Class will now be equipped with a particulate filter system which requires no additives and which reduces soot particle emissions by up to 95 percent. The introduction of diesel particulate filters in all Mercedes-Benz diesel passenger cars is the latest highlight in the brand's long-standing commitment to environmental compatibility: back in October 2003, Mercedes-Benz became the first car brand in the world to offer the combination of a particulate filter and compliance with the EU 4 emissions standard for diesel passenger cars.
2006 BlueTec® for the cleanest diesels in the world The presentation of the E 320 BlueTec® and the Vision GL 320 BlueTec® at the 2006 Detroit Motor Show marks the start of a unique initiative in which Mercedes-Benz points the way to the future by using BlueTec® technology to make diesel vehicles in every class the cleanest diesels in the world. Furthermore, BlueTec® makes the particularly economical Mercedes-Benz CDI models the world's cleanest diesels in every class while consuming 20 to 40 percent less fuel than comparable petrol-driven models.
2006 Fuel-cell fleet passes two million kilometre mark Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, buses and vans with fuel-cell drive systems – there are over 100 of them in use around the world – have covered more than two million kilometres to date. The first fuel-cell vehicles went into day-to-day operation in May 2003, successively followed by the delivery of Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell vehicles, Citaro fuel-cell buses and FC Sprinter vans for use by customers in Europe, the USA, Japan, Australia and China. Mercedes-Benz is a pioneer and leader in the development of the fuel cell for automotive applications, a field in which the company's researchers and engineers have been active since the early 1990s. 1994 saw the presentation of the first fuel-cell-powered vehicle, the NECAR 1. More than 20 research vehicles and prototypes followed. The pioneering role of the company is underlined by several hundred patent applications in the field of fuel-cell technology.
