Hydrogen funding in place

20 October 2014  

The UK government has announced a multi-million pound funding package to create a hydrogen fuel network as Toyota announced intentions to sell vehicles using the fuel in the UK.

At the Paris Motor Show in October, the Japanese car manufacturer unveiled its production model FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle), originally announced as a concept in 2013. The company hopes to start selling the car in the UK next year as long as plans are in place to support the fuel with a filling-station network.

Business Minister Matthew Hancock has announced a multi-million-pound package aimed at ensuring the smooth introduction of the cars to UK roads, which includes installing an extra 15 hydrogen re-fuelling stations and upgrading existing ones. The package is worth £11 million – with £7.5 million coming from the Government and £3.5 million from industry.

Mr Hancock, who recently met executives from Toyota, Honda and Nissan during a visit to Japan, said: “Britain has become one of the best places in the world to build cars, with the value of those we export outstripping imports for the first time in a generation, but we want to go further.