Hydrogen developments: a UK perspective

The launch was supported by Hyundai, Toyota and Honda, who were on hand to display their new fuel cell electric vehicles. The site, which as a public access refuelling station represents the first of its kind in the UK, consists of a 225kW wind turbine coupled directly to an electrolyser, 220 kilogrammes of hydrogen storage, a hydrogen dispensing unit and a 30kW fuel cell system capable of providing back-up power generation for nearby buildings. The facility has been upgraded as a showcase for ITM Power’s world-class hydrogen generation equipment and is used to provide retail hydrogen fuel services. The M1 motorway was highlighted as a key route for the early deployment of hydrogen refuelling in the UK in the published UK H2Mobility Phase 1 Report.

The station, which has been supported by Innovate UK, currently offers hydrogen gas at 350bar which was a specification of the Island Hydrogen (formerly known as Eco Island) project. The station will be upgraded in early 2016 to provide hydrogen at 700bar as a result of funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles; this will provide the fuel cell vehicles with a longer range (of between 350–400 miles) and extend the reach of clean emission transportation in South Yorkshire to hydrogen refuelling stations elsewhere in the UK, including London.

Of interest here is the fact that an airport anywhere in the UK could tap into this hydrogen generating facility: all that is required is a supply of electricity and water, together with a shipping container for the fuel generation and storage. In fact, says ITM, theoretically the infrastructure is so straightforward that it could be disassembled and moved, if required.

The hydrogen detractors, of which there are no small number, it has to be admitted, still need to be won over, though. Hydrogen advocates point to the fuel’s extreme cleanliness as well as the fact that storage tanks in vehicles are very robust and are over-engineered for safety. There is plenty of visual evidence on the Internet to support the claim that a hydrogen vehicle catching fire is much less of a risk than that of a petrol-driven vehicle. Indeed, Heathrow has taken a lead with this fuel and has a landside station in operation; airside there is also facility, although that is currently not in use.

Separately, at the end of October, ITM also announced that it had officially received the first Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle to be delivered in the UK. This coincided with the announcement by Toyota confirming the choice of the UK as an early entry market for its fuel cell electric vehicles (or FCEVs). The company also took the opportunity to sign its first fuel contract, with Toyota, covering the green hydrogen fuel dispensed from the three London HyFIVE refuelling stations. Following a recent Strategic Forecourt Siting Agreement, three of these hydrogen stations will be deployed on existing fuel retail forecourts in London. The refuelling stations have a total capacity of 400 kilogrammes per day and will form the initial seeding of a UK green hydrogen infrastructure that is initially centred on London.

The price of hydrogen to all customers from ITM Power’s public refuelling stations will be £10 per kilogramme, which is the lowest hydrogen price at any public refuelling station in the UK.