Mercedes-Benz is stepping up its EV game, and the course ahead will be heralded by the next-gen Electric Drive Unit (EDU 2.0) in its upcoming electric cars. The new platform marries a 200kW electric motor on the rear axle and an 80kW unit on the front. Atop it, the German automaker will serve the 800-volt battery architecture for the first time, along with improved thermal design, higher longevity, and superior efficiency.
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The overarching goal is to boost the pace of charging, supply more power, and more importantly, achieve higher range output — a dream that began with the Vision EQXX. The innovations have made their showcase appearances over the past few years and are now finally graduating the concept stage to mainstream cars. Among them, the groundbreaking Vision EQXX is lending its DNA to the first wave of cars based on the Mercedes-Benz modular architecture (MMA) and will make its market debut with the CLA series and a couple of SUVs for the U.S. market.
The EV-focused skateboard chassis developed for the EDU 2.0 rides will make its way to the entry-level segment for the first time, delivering refined traction, handling experience, and higher peak speed, among other perks. A notable innovation is the Disconnect Unit (DCU), which takes the front axle unit out of the equation when it’s not needed; a tactic that is claimed to reduce front axle losses by 90% and add some much-needed miles to the range figures. For the 4MATIC models, the DCU pushes the front motor as a boost unit for extra power.
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More range, smarter brains
As mentioned above, increased range is the ultimate moonshot of the Mercedes-Benz’s EDU 2.0 future. The company is even pushing the Concept CLA as the “one-liter car” for the EV era, touting a frugal energy consumption rate of 5.2 miles per kWh. The automaker is claiming a range north of 466 miles for its entry-level CLA series cars. For reference, the Mercedes-AMG EQS can only touch 350 miles on paper.
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The upcoming EDU 2.0 cars won’t be a slouch at juicing up either, aiming for a range of 186 miles with just 10 minutes of fast DC charging time (up to 320kW). For AC charging, Mercedes-Benz is borrowing tech from Formula 1 cars to make a lightweight 11kW charging kit. Down the road, the company will bring bidirectional charging to its entry-level electric cars, allowing them to funnel solar power, and then deliver it to homes or channel it to the grid. The Electric Intelligence system also lends a hand by preheating the battery to achieve the fastest charging experience.
For route planning, Electric Intelligence will take into account factors such as temperature, speed, traffic conditions, and location of charging stations and their capacity. Depending on the journey requirements, it would automatically adjust a car’s charging settings, estimate the cost of charging stops, and would also pick between longer charging sessions versus multiple shorter sessions with bursts of high-capacity charging. Cars based on the MMA design will also be the first to offer an air-to-air heat pump, pulling the excess thermal discharge from three sources, including the waste heat from the EDU 2.0 platform and the battery.
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A battery architecture for the future
Of course, it’s an electric platform, so there are some expected updates to cell composition, as well. Mercedes-Benz is replacing the graphite anodes with a new mixture laced with silicon oxide, which achieves a 20% higher energy density and reaches an energy content worth 85 kWh. The company also claims battery-to-wheel efficiency of 93%, a hallmark of energy update improvements.
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Thanks to the in-house tweaks, the company also claims to have slashed the battery costs by a healthy 30% margin. In an interview with Read earlier this year, Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Chief Technology Officer, discussed the battery cost conundrum. It seems the company has made some solid progress on that front.
The next-gen battery modules are flatter and more compact. More importantly, they are claimed to be repairable. The whole four-cell kit also comes with an integrated liquid-cooling system as well as an auxiliary heater. Cell spacing has also been expanded to prevent heat-related stress events, and a new sensor has been fitted to monitor the battery’s health even when the cells aren’t turned on.
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For safety, Mercedes-Benz is throwing in a few extra automatic protocols such as automatic shuttering of the vent flaps and side windows as part of the early warning system. To deal with events such as serious accidents where the car is not in a state suited for driving, the high-voltage system is permanently shut down as part of a multi-stage protection model. For minor accidents, the disconnection is reversible, which means the vehicle can still be driven following a system check.
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