A pan-European drive to kick-start the widespread use of hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles has got underway.
The Hydrogen Mobility Europe project (H2ME) pulls together fuel cell initiatives from four countries and is being backed to the tune of €32mln by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU).
H2ME will oversee deployment of 200 fuel cell-powered electric vehicles, 125 fuel cell range-extended electric commercial vans and 29 new hydrogen refuelling stations across Europe by 2019.
First vehicles have already been delivered to customers Daimler and SymbioFCell in Germany and France.
The project is being backed by H2 MOBILITY Deutschland, Mobilité Hydrogène France, Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway Partnership and UK H2 Mobility.
H2ME will initially be rolled out across Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.
Dr Rachel Smith, executive director of ITM Power (LON:ITM), the project’s UK coordinator said the aims are to demystify the role of hydrogen, show the readiness of the stations and vehicles, and to enable the widespread and rapid adoption of clean emission transport.