Fuel cell vehicles hit the road

€32 million project creates world’s largest network of hydrogen refuelling stations

A €32 million project to construct the world’s largest network of hydrogen refuelling stations has been launched.

The H2ME project will give fuel cell electric vehicle drivers access to a network of 29 hydrogen stations in Germany, France, Scandinavia and the UK.

The project will also place 200 fuel cell cars (from Daimler and Hyundai) and 125 fuel cell range-extended vans (Symbio FCell collaborating with Renault) in customer hands.

H2ME aims to develop insights into the practical challenges of rolling out hydrogen fuel cell technology at a large scale.

The project is co-funded with €32 million from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. The consortium, led by Element Energy, includes Daimler, SymbioFCell, Hyundai, Honda, Intelligent Energy, Nissan and a host infrastructure providers.

Dr Rachel Smith, executive director, ITM Power, co-ordinator of UK activities, said: “The project is a fantastic opportunity to develop the refuelling infrastructure in the UK. It is perfectly timed to coincide with the introduction of fuel cell cars in Europe, enabling evaluation of end-user experiences of hydrogen stations.”

Smith said the project and would demystify the role of hydrogen, and show the readiness of the stations and vehicles.