UK Government awards £2 million fund to boost hydrogen vehicles

Plans to make nearly every vehicle in the country zero-emission by 2050 have taken a further step

forward, with the launch of a £2 million government fund to encourage more businesses to switch to

hydrogen vehicles. The Fuel Cell Vehicle Fleet Support Scheme will allow local authorities, health trusts,

police forces, fire brigades and private companies to bid for funding to add hydrogen-powered vehicles

to their fleets.

The £2 million fund, launched by the government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), could bring

up to 100 more hydrogen fuel cell cars and vans onto the roads by next spring – the equivalent of

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 Program for 12 hydrogen refueling

stations.

“We are always looking at new ways to make the vehicles of the future cleaner, and hydrogen fuel cells

are an important part of our vision for almost all cars and vans to be zero-emission by 2050,” said

Transport Minister Andrew Jones. This funding, along with the growing network of hydrogen stations

opening in England, will help businesses and the public sector to get on board with this exciting

technology. This is further proof that we are leading the way in making journeys cleaner and protecting

the environment.”

The money will cover up to 75% of the costs of new vehicles bought by next 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.

NGS INDIA