Energy storage and clean fuel company ITM Power opened the gates of the first public access HyFive hydrogen fuel station in London at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington.

UK’s Transport Minister Andrew Jones opened the station supported by members of the European HyFive consortium, including Toyota, Hyundai, Honda and Renault’s technology partner Symbio FCell.

The station is the first of the three to be opened in the UK as part of the pan-European HyFive project, funded by the European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCHJU) and the UK Government Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

The HyFive project (Hydrogen For Innovative Vehicles) includes 15 partners which plan to deploy a total of 185 fuel-cell electric vehicles from BMW, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota. This consortium also plans to create a refueling station network in three parts of Europe to serve its fleet, with six new stations added to the existing 12 stations.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones also announced a £2 million government fund to support the adoption of hydrogen vehicles in public and private sector fleets. “We are committed to making all cars and vans zero-emission by 2050, and hydrogen vehicles have a huge role to play in delivering cleaner, greener journeys.

“The new refuelling station at Teddington is just one of 12 stations opening up this year, backed by £5 million of government funding, that will make it easier for more people to switch to this exciting new technology.”

ITM Power is also commissioned to open a further four hydrogen refuelling stations in and around London before the end of 2016.

“The opening of ITM Power’s new filling station is an excellent example of how a coordinated hydrogen fuel infrastructure is successfully being developed in the UK with backing from the HyFive consortium,” said Paul Van der Burgh, Toyota (GB) PLC President. “We are pleased to continue our support for the wider provision of hydrogen fuel outlets, which will encourage increased customer uptake of zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell vehicles such as the Toyota Mirai saloon.”

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