UK Government announces £2m competition to encourage hydrogen vehicle take-up
Tue 10 May 2016
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The Department for Transport has launched a £2 million Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Fleet Support Scheme which will allow both public and private sector fleets in the UK to bid for funding to add hydrogen-powered vehicles to their fleets. Meanwhile, ITM Power has opened its first public hydrogen refuelling site in West London and Fife Council has announced the introduction of two hybrid hydrogen/diesel bin lorries.
Announced by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), the competition aims to facilitate the take-up of up to 100 more hydrogen fuel cell cars and vans by 2017, equivalent to tripling the number of vehicles currently in use.
The new fund comes after the government committed £5 million in 2014 through the Hydrogen for Transport Advancement Programme for 12 hydrogen refuelling stations (in England only).
The money will cover up to 75% of the costs of new vehicles bought by local authorities, health trusts, police forces, fire brigades and private companies by April 2017, as well as the cost of running them for up to 3 years. Support will also be available for the leasing or renting of vehicles, insurance, hydrogen fuel and servicing.
Two streams: public sector and private sector fleets
The competition is open to public sector fleets and to individual private enterprise fleets (up to a ceiling of €200,000 support).
Bids should present a clear plan for deploying hydrogen-fuelled vehicles and managing their use to ensure that utilisation is high.
The deadline for bids for funding is 4 July 2016. The aim is to announce successful bidders at the beginning of August 2016.
A series of national workshops to promote awareness of the new scheme has just concluded. More details here.
In a related development, ITM Power, the energy storage and clean fuel company, has officially launched its first public access hydrogen refuelling station in London at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington.
The station is the first of three UK stations to be deployed as part of the pan European HyFive project, which was funded by the European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCHJU) and OLEV.
in Scotland, Fife Council is introducing two hybrid hydrogen/diesel bin lorries.The vehicles are planned for use in densely populated urban areas, where improving air quality is a major concern.
For more details see Commercial Fleet news story.
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