A new publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling station has opened at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, South West London. The station was opened by Transport Minister Andrew Jones, and is the first of 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).

At the same time, the minister announced a £2 million government fund to support the roll-out of hydrogen vehicles, saying: “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.”

The Teddington refuelling station is close to the A316 and A308 trunk roads and is available for commercial and private fleets operating fuel-cell electric vehicles. It’s run by ITM Power, and teams from that company and BOC Linde are to commission and open a further four refuelling stations in and around London before the end of this year.

For more information on fuel-cell cars, see our ‘Should I buy a hydrogen car’ article.