A consortium including energy giant Shell has won a multi-million pound government grant to improve use of hydrogen vehicles in the UK.
The Department for Transport has awarded £8.8million in funding, with £4.3million going to clean energy firm ITM Power.
It will use the funds to create four new hydrogen refuelling stations in the UK, and upgrade five existing ones to help support a larger fleet of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.
ITM Power is joined by Shell, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai in the consortium.
The government funding will be also be used to create nearly 200 clean energy vehicles which will be used by taxi drivers and the police.
The funds will be matched by a further £13.1million investment from the companies involved, as well as other sources.
Dr Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power said: “This project will deliver the largest expansion of the hydrogen refuelling infrastructure ever undertaken in the UK and is a very significant step forward for the UK hydrogen industry.
“The project will fund ITM Power to build four new hydrogen refuelling stations and upgrade five further stations. Our partnership with Shell, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai constitutes a highly coordinated roll out of hydrogen vehicles and refuelling infrastructure.”
Oliver Bishop, general manager of hydrogen at Shell, said: “Hydrogen has the potential to become a significant part of the transport mix in a low-carbon future.
“Central to this success is collaboration between the Government, energy companies, OEMs and technology experts to create the infrastructure to make access to new fuel options viable.
“At Shell, we are delighted to be part of the latest infrastructure funding effort, and to help drive forward the UK’s hydrogen refuelling network.”
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