Skip to main content

UK Government Air Quality Plan – call for funding for FCEVs

Following the release of the UK Government’s final Air Quality Plan, in which it announced that it will ban all petrol and diesel vehicles (including hybrids) from 2040, ITM Power says this represents an historic first step towards cleaner and greener transport in the UK. However, it is calling on the UK Government to provide equivalent financial support for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) infrastructure as it has already provided for plug-in battery electric vehicle (BEV) infrastructure. The company, wh
July 27, 2017 Read time: 3 mins
Following the release of the UK Government’s final Air Quality Plan, in which it announced that it will ban all petrol and diesel vehicles (including hybrids) from 2040, ITM Power says this represents an historic first step towards cleaner and greener transport in the UK.

However, it is calling on the UK Government to provide equivalent financial support for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) infrastructure as it has already provided for plug-in battery electric vehicle (BEV) infrastructure.

The company, which manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions, claims equivalent funding would satisfy the UK Government’s stated position of being technology agnostic.  It also calls on the Government to implement its announced plan to provide 65 hydrogen refuelling stations across the UK, to be operational by 2020.  Current proposed levels of funding for hydrogen infrastructure would not achieve OLEV’s stated target.

The UK is one of 17 EU countries breaching annual targets for nitrogen dioxide, a problem which has been made worse by the failure of the European testing regime for vehicle emissions.

The UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations produced by Defra and the 1837 Department for Transport outlines how councils with the worst levels of air pollution at busy road junctions and hotspots must take robust action.

The announcement focused on delivering nitrogen dioxide (NO2) compliance at the roadside in the shortest amount of time. This is one part of the Government’s programme to deliver clean air; next year it will publish a comprehensive Clean Air Strategy which will address other sources of air pollution.

Air quality in the UK has been improving significantly in recent decades, with reductions in emissions of all of the key pollutants, and NO2 levels down by half in the last 15 years. Despite this, an analysis of over 1,800 of Britain’s major roads show that a small number of these - 81 or four per cent - are due to breach legal pollution limits for NO2, with 33 of these outside of London.

To accelerate action local areas will be asked to produce initial plans within eight months and final plans by the end of next year.

The Government will help towns and cities by providing US$335 million (£255 million) to implement their plans, in addition to the US$3.5 billion (£2.7 billion) it is already investing.

Local authorities will be able to bid for money from a new Clean Air Fund to support improvements which will reduce the need for restrictions on polluting vehicles. This could include changing road layouts, removing traffic lights and speed humps, or upgrading bus fleets.

The government will also issue a consultation in the autumn to gather views on measures to support motorists, residents and businesses affected by local plans - such as retrofitting, subsidised car club memberships, exemptions from any vehicles restrictions, or a targeted scrappage scheme for car and van drivers.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • VW and Shell try to block EU push for electric cars
    April 29, 2016
    VW and Shell have united to try to block Europe’s push for electric cars and more efficient cars, saying biofuels should be at heart of efforts to green the industry instead. The EU is planning two new fuel efficiency targets for 2025 and 2030 to help meet promises made at the Paris climate summit last December. But executives from the two organisations launched a study on Wednesday night proposing greater use of biofuels, CO2 car labelling, and the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) instead.
  • Funding boost to cut pollution from local buses
    August 30, 2013
    Towns and cities in England are set to benefit from US$7.7 million of funding to reduce pollution from local buses, Local Transport Minister Norman Baker has announced. A total of eleven local authorities have been awarded grants from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Clean Bus Technology Fund, which will allow almost 400 buses to be upgraded.
  • UK government launches new ultra low emission vehicles strategy
    September 5, 2013
    Transport Minister Norman Baker has launched the UK government’s strategy, Driving the future today - a strategy for ultra low emission vehicles in the UK, to drive forward the ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) industry. The new strategy signals a major change in the way vehicles will be powered in the future and reaffirms the government’s commitment to provide new opportunities for the motor industry to help grow the UK economy.
  • First eVolt charge point installed for Electric Nation
    March 13, 2017
    The first eVolt smart electric vehicle (EV) charge point has been installed at a residential property outside Nottingham for the Electric Nation trial, which is seeking to find a smart charging solution that will better manage local level power distribution at peak times. According to eVolt, the eMobility brand of the Swarco Group, research suggests that some of the UK’s local electricity networks will need intervention to enable motorists to charge EVs at home at peak times. It indicates that at least U