London is one of the European cities to be involved in a major new £31 million project to make hydrogen vehicles a viable and environmentally friendly choice for motorists
Leading motor manufacturers, hydrogen fuel suppliers, the Mayor of London’s Office and energy consultancies from around the globe have signed up to the HyFive project, the largest of its kind in Europe.
Five different manufacturers – BMW, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota – have agreed to deploy a total of 110 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at several European locations – Bolzano, Copenhagen, Innsbruck, London, Munich and Stuttgart – and develop new clusters of hydrogen refuelling stations.
Three new hydrogen refuelling stations are expected to be operational in London by 2015, by which time some of the manufacturers in the partnership will have started to put hydrogen fuelled cars on sale in some European markets.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “To sell this technology we need to show Londoners and the wider world that it is not science fiction. By building the vehicles and the filling stations and allowing people to kick the tyres we will be able to demonstrate that hydrogen is a viable option and that London is at the forefront of efforts to make it so.”