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In a major step to diversify the range of low emission vehicles available, £11 million investment has been announced by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) towards the development of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure in the UK.

The investment will see the UK’s hydrogen infrastructure grow to up to 15 refuelling stations nationwide, and is part of government’s drive to make the UK a global leader in ultra-low emission vehicles. Joint-funded by government and industry, the project will allocate funds as follows:

• £7 million – install and run up to seven new customer-facing hydrogen refuelling stations.
• £2 million – upgrade existing hydrogen refuelling stations.
• £2 million – acquisition of around 40 hydrogen-fuelled vehicles for the public sector.

The announcement was made by Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Matthew Hancock MP, while visiting Honda, Nissan and Toyota in Japan.

91���� Chief Executive, Mike Hawes, said, “Investment in hydrogen fuel infrastructure in the UK is an important step for the automotive industry. As consumer interest in low emission vehicles increases, the industry is diversifying the range of technologies available with hydrogen-fuelled vehicles joining pure electric, hybrid, alternatively and conventionally-powered vehicles.

“This is a major first step in making the UK automotive industry a leader in hydrogen technology and industry’s commitment of £3.5 million to this project demonstrates its confidence in the technology.”

OLEV’s investment in the hydrogen fuel infrastructure is part of a wider £500 million government funding pot, which will be invested between 2015 and 2020, in the UK’s drive to become a global leader in the development and take-up of low emission vehicles.