A new fleet of low-carbon vehicles is set to hit London's streets, following the unveiling this week of plans for the capital's third hydrogen refuelling station.
The Hydrogen Transport for European Cities (HyTEC) project will support London's efforts to cut emissions with the introduction of 15 hydrogen-powered London black cabs and five hydrogen-powered Suzuki Bergmann scooters.
In addition, an air products hydrogen fuelling station will also be installed to connect to the two fuelling stations that are already in operation to support London's eight hydrogen buses.
All the elements of the refuelling network should be in place in time for next year's Olympics, providing the foundations for mayor Boris Johnson's plans to ultimately replace all of London's 20,000 cabs with zero-emissions vehicles.
Hydrogen has long been touted as a credible means of decarbonising transport, but adoption of fuel cell vehicles has been hampered by the cost of the technology and the absence of supporting refuelling infrastructure.
HyTEC project co-ordinator Diana Raine said increasing the number of recharging stations could only help to increase the uptake of hydrogen vehicles in the capital.
"This new project shows London is leading the way in establishing hydrogen transport infrastructure compared with other environmental world cities," she said. "Creating a network of hydrogen fuelling stations will make it possible for fleets of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the capital, cutting carbon emissions and air pollution."
HyTEC is also working on plans to deploy a network of fuelling stations in Copenhagen, Denmark, to help understand the best methods for rolling out hydrogen transport in European cities.
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