Driving hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to market

An EU-funded project, with the support of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint undertaking (FCH JU), has installed hydrogen filling stations, tested prototype fuel cell vehicles and brought together car makers and infrastructure providers to push forward the commercial viability of this zero-emissions technology. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which manufacturers aim to make commercially available from 2018, offer zero-emissions transport and function much like an electric vehicle. However, fuel cell vehicles mu
July 19, 2017 Read time: 3 mins
An EU-funded project, with the support of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint undertaking (FCH JU), has installed hydrogen filling stations, tested prototype fuel cell vehicles and brought together car makers and infrastructure providers to push forward the commercial viability of this zero-emissions technology.


Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which manufacturers aim to make commercially available from 2018, offer zero-emissions transport and function much like an electric vehicle. However, fuel cell vehicles must be refuelled, which takes approximately three minutes, so having the necessary refuelling infrastructure in place is crucial to ensure that the technology is commercially viable and attractive.

“Infrastructure providers are nervous about demand for their stations and need assurance from vehicle manufacturers,” explains HYFIVE project coordinator Simona Webb from the Greater London Authority, UK. “Car manufacturers, on the other hand, need to know their vehicles will have a reliable and accessible network of stations to serve their customers. This is why the EU-funded HYFIVE project makes perfect sense; it brings both parties together addressing any teething issues now before commercialisation.”

The project has already made 185 hydrogen vehicles operational, along with six hydrogen refuelling stations. In addition, five global automotive companies leading the drive towards commercialisation, 1731 BMW, 2069 Daimler, 1683 Honda, 1684 Hyundai and 1686 Toyota, have deployed their latest fuel cell vehicle innovations.

The project is focusing on three regions: the UK’s London region; the Copenhagen region in Denmark; and a southern European region comprising parts of Germany, Austria and northern Italy. “There are a lot of hydrogen fuel cell technology developments in these regions with infrastructure already in place,” explains Webb. “Data gathered from all HYFIVE stations will be used to address any technical or logistical issues, and to better understand the impact of operating a refuelling station network managed by different suppliers.”

The project is also working with manufacturers to demonstrate that fuel cell vehicles meet and exceed technical and environmental expectations. Toyota has already deployed its vehicles to commercial customers outside of HYFIVE, and in London, one of Toyota’s fuel cell vehicles operates part of a commercial private taxi fleet.

It also plans to establish best practice in new equipment maintenance procedures, along with guidelines for training those working within dealerships and the spare parts supply chain, which it says are essential if the technology is to be commercially viable.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Frequency changes threaten vehicle safety applications
    January 24, 2012
    The use of frequency spectrum at 5.9GHz for vehicle safety applications is at risk because of two draft bills currently before Congress. Here, we look at why and what’s being done to address the issue. In the US, the right of cooperative infrastructure to use frequency at 5.9GHz is under threat as a result of the proposal of two bills in Congress. The chronology of spectrum allocation for Dedicated Short- Range Communications (DSRC)-based Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) safety a
    Read More
  • Inland waterways can de-stress city roads
    March 17, 2016
    David Crawford looks at an under-utilised solution for city-centre deliveries. The use of rivers and canals for moving freight is a well-established mode in North Western Europe, where it can take advantage of an intensively developed network. In the Netherlands, 40% of the total volume of goods transported internally goes by water; the figure for Flanders (the neighbouring Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) is 11.5%.
    Read More
  • Engine emissions analyser improves emissions testing capability
    June 1, 2016
    An advanced FTIR analyser installed at Intertek’s engine test facility in Milton Keynes is enabling engineers to improve the quality of their tests on the gaseous components of engine exhaust emissions. The gas analyser manufactured by Gasmet Technologies and installed by their UK subsidiary, Quantitech, measures multiple organic and inorganic components simultaneously from a large library of compounds, enabling Intertek’s engineers to quickly and easily change the measured compounds; to change the fuel
    Read More
  • Mature solutions for emerging economies
    June 8, 2015
    Siemens’ Marcus Welz talks to David Crawford about suitable ITS solutions for emerging economies. Be bold in vision - and output - and user-oriented in practice,” Marcus Welz advises emerging economies planning ITS investments. Says the Siemens Group senior vice president and global sales director for ITS: “Their road users need better, more reliable and safer trips – but without costs increasing too much. The good news is that many countries are already tackling the big issues of traffic and the environmen
    Read More

Highlighted Content