UK Police cars to trial hydrogen cars in zero emission project

Cars from the UK's Metropollitan police are set to be among nearly 200 new hydrogen powered vehicles switching to zero emission miles following an £8.8m ($12.4m) project funded by the Department of Transport (DoT). It is designed with the intention of improving access to hydrogen fuelling stations across the country and increasing the number of hydrogen cars on its roads from this Summer. The scheme is run by a consortium led by Element Energy whose members also include ITM Power, Shell, Toyota and
March 28, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

Cars from the UK's Metropolitan police are set to be among nearly 200 new hydrogen powered vehicles switching to zero emission miles following an £8.8m ($12.4m) project funded by the Department of Transport (DoT). It is designed with the intention of improving access to hydrogen fuelling stations across the country and increasing the number of hydrogen cars on its roads from this Summer.

The scheme is run by a consortium led by Element Energy whose members also include ITM Power, Shell, Toyota and Hyundai. It aims to capitalise on reliable mileage of established fleets and see vehicles being procured by emergency services taxi and private car service as well as Green Tomato Cars and Europcar to support the increase of refuelling infrastructure for hydrogen vehicles.

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are powered by electricity generated on-board the vehicle from hydrogen fuel passing through a fuel cell stack, allowing the driver to refill the tank at a hydrogen refuelling station.

These cars intend to provide a zero emission alternative for drivers travelling long distances with refuelling times comparable to diesel or petrol fuels vehicles.

Dr Graham Cooley, chief executive officer, ITM Power said: “This project will deliver the largest expansion of the hydrogen refuelling infrastructure ever undertaken in the UK and is a very significant step forward for the UK hydrogen industry. The project will fund ITM Power to build four new hydrogen refuelling stations and upgrade five further stations. Our partnership with Shell, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai constitutes a highly coordinated roll out of hydrogen vehicles and refuelling infrastructure.”

Oliver Bishop, general manager of hydrogen at Shell, said: “Hydrogen has the potential to become a significant part of the transport mix in a low-carbon future. Central to this success is collaboration between the Government, energy companies, OEMs and technology experts to create the infrastructure to make access to new fuel options viable. At Shell, we are delighted to be part of the latest infrastructure funding effort, and to help drive forward the UK’s hydrogen refuelling network.”

Related Content

  • December 16, 2016
    Study reveals unexpected effects of replacing fuel tax
    Eric O’Rear, Wallace Tyner and Kemal Sarica examine the far-reaching implications of replacing fuel taxes with a mileage tax. Lawmakers at both the federal and state level are frustrated over declining fuel tax revenues as they struggle to fund projects for constructing and maintaining state-wide infrastructure.
    Read More
  • October 28, 2015
    Emissions reductions targets to have major impact on transport
    As bold moves aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions have been introduced in California, David Crawford looks at the ramifications for transportation. California Governor Jerry Brown’s recent dramatic raising of the bar on emissions reduction policy for the state has won him praise from Japan, Australia, Europe and the secretariat of the critical UN conference on climate change being held in Paris in November/December 2015. His April 2015 executive order aimed at bringing emissions to 40% below 1990 lev
    Read More
  • September 6, 2018
    UK fleet operators commit to taking diesel vans off roads
    In the UK, 16 public and private sector fleet operators are to invest £40m in a bid to deploy 2,400 electric vans by 2020. The operators – which include Tesco - point to a recent study, in which the health damage caused by pollution from diesel vans has been put at £2.2bn per annum to the UK National Health Service and to society. The newly-formed consortium – called the Clean Van Commitment – is backed by the Department for Transport and led by charity Global Action Plan and energy and services group Engi
    Read More
  • November 1, 2023
    The challenging European road to carbon neutrality and the need for distance-based charging
    Fuel taxes are falling and EVs have the potential to create social equity issues. The answer may lie in expanding the use of technology which has successfully been used for two decades with trucks
    Read More

Highlighted Content