The funding has been supplied by the Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS) Infrastructure Grants Scheme, run by OLEV, and will be used to enhance the user experience at the Heathrow and Hendon fuelling in stations in line with plans to expand uptake of hydrogen cars.

OLEV’s funding will also be used to enable Air Products to deploy fully mobile hydrogen fuelling solution, to allow vehicle demonstration and testing across the UK, including areas where the fixed fuelling infrastructure is not yet developed.

Diana Raine, Air Products’ European hydrogen energy business manager, commented: “Having already achieved the necessary technical and operational standards, improving the user experience is the natural next step. Working in consultation with car manufacturers such as Hyundai and Toyota, we will use the funding provided by OLEV to introduce enhancements to our Heathrow and Hendon fuelling stations aimed at encouraging commercial and public adoption of hydrogen transport.”

“Hyundai Motor UK have for some time been using the Air Products SmartFuel Stations,” said Robin Hayles, sustainable fuel development manager for Hyundai Motor UK Ltd. “These stations have not only supported the first few of our ix35 Fuel Cell customers but have also allowed us to demonstrate the real-world viability of this technology to other potential customers. We are pleased that Air Products have been awarded OLEV funding to enhance the customer experience , since this will further demonstrate that hydrogen transport is no longer a future vision but is already a realistic alternative to traditional vehicle technologies.”