Demonstrates vital importance of hydrogen to achieving zero-emission mobility; progress to
be discussed at Hydrogen for Clean Transport Conference
Loughborough, UK, 8th August 2019. Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME) today announced its
latest results and progress in its drive to increase the usage of hydrogen within mobility. The
pan-European project has now deployed close to 500 hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric
vehicles (FCEVs) and 30 hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) across Germany, France,
Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and other European countries. Vehicles have now travelled
over 8 million kilometres since the project began in 2015, with over 5 million of these
happening in 2018.
Findings and conclusions from H2ME will be shared at the Hydrogen for Clean Transport midterm
conference, which will take place in Hamburg on 25th October 2019. Hamburg is the
perfect location for the event as it has taken a strategic approach to adopting hydrogen,
particularly in combination with renewable energies, launching a wide range of projects with
ongoing local political support.
Many countries are now legislating to ban the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles –
for example, Norway by 2025, the Netherlands from 2030, and the UK and France by 2040.
In this context, viable and flexible solutions to support the switch to zero-emission mobility
should be promoted. Hydrogen has key advantages as a fuel. These include reducing tailpipe
emissions to zero and improving air quality, while being easily available, simple to store,
suitable for heavy-duty applications and zero-emission when it is generated from renewable
sources. Most importantly for individuals or fleets with high demand and responsive
operations, such as taxis or emergency response services, it provides the longest range and
fastest refuelling of zero-emission vehicles.
The H2ME initiative aims to support the commercialisation of fuel cell and hydrogen
technologies in Europe. As well as creating the world’s largest network of HRS, it is sharing
best practice and standards between the 43 partners and helping develop attractive ownership
models in use cases such as taxis, captive fleets, and in cities with strict environmental targets.
In total, the project will deploy 49 HRS and 1,400 hydrogen fuel cell cars and vans by 2022.
The results generated by the project are shared with industry, politicians, and the wider public
to support the wider adoption of hydrogen mobility. As part of this, the Hydrogen for Clean
Transport conference will showcase the advances made by hydrogen technology in the
transport sector and discuss the remaining challenges working towards widespread
commercialisation. To celebrate the expanding network of stations in Europe, hydrogenpowered
vehicles will be driving to the event from across Europe, arriving in Hamburg the day
before the conference begins. For more details and to register for the event visit
Ben Madden, Director at Element Energy – Project Lead and Coordinator said,
“Governments at a national and local level are putting in place concrete targets to reduce
emissions and accelerate the switch to zero-emission mobility. The H2ME project
demonstrates that hydrogen can play a central role in this shift, ensuring that all road users
have the option to participate in the transition, thanks to its ability to provide fast refuelling and
long range. Today, we can already see an acceleration of the use of hydrogen as a fuel in
heavy-duty and high demand applications, such as taxis, delivery vehicles and trucks.”
Nikolas Iwan, Managing Director H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH – German Coalition
Lead, said, “We are delighted the Hydrogen For Clean Transport Conference will be hosted
in Germany, where 70 stations have already opened. H2 MOBILITY continues working on the
expansion of its network in Germany with one H2 station opening every two weeks on average
in 2019. We are looking forward to more and more customers who want emissions-free driving
with the range and fuelling times they are used to.”
Dirk Schaap, Coordinator for hydrogen at the Ministry of Infrastructure and
Watermanagement, The Netherlands – Dutch Coalition Lead, said “The Dutch
government and Dutch companies are increasingly looking at hydrogen for its potential in
supporting the energy transition while creating economic opportunities. Hydrogen is
increasingly considered a crucial energy carrier and sector integrator in Dutch climate
policies. The private sector is planning for investments, for example, earlier this year, plans
for a €2.8 billion euro investment in the large-scale application of sustainably generated
hydrogen in the Northern Netherlands were announced. The H2ME project allows us to
exchange ideas with other European stakeholders and understand the practicalities of
preparing for hydrogen deployments.”
Jon Bjorn Skulason, Managing Director of Icelandic New Energy – Scandinavian
Coalition Lead, said, ”The Scandinavian countries have been at the forefront of policies and
deployment for zero-emission mobility and have also had to face some of the hurdles. The
strong commitment of governments and private organisations has made deployment a
success in the H2ME project and other initiatives and we expect this to continue moving
forward. “
Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM power – UK Coalition Lead, said, “The UK government is now
preparing to end its contribution to global warming within 30 years by setting an ambitious new
target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The importance of hydrogen
in enabling the UK to meet this target was highlighted in the government report, which stated
that “Low-carbon hydrogen moves from being a useful option to a key enabler. Updates to
policy alongside adoption of our recommended target should reflect that”, reinforcing the
contribution H2ME can make moving forward.”
Fabio Ferrari, CEO of Symbio – French Coalition Lead, said, “France will have nearly 2,000
trucks and more than 20,000 light commercial vehicles powered by hydrogen by 2028, with
hydrogen technology recognised as a Strategic Value Chain within Europe. The H2ME
initiative is definitely a first step towards mass market adoption, as only a huge growth in
volumes and capacity will allow reduction in the price of the hydrogen stack and components
to meet worldwide market expectations.”
About H2ME
This €170 million demonstration project is co-funded with €67 million from the Fuel Cells and
Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), a public-private partnership supporting fuel cell and
hydrogen energy technologies in Europe.
Partners include project lead Element Energy, alongside AGA, Air Liquide, AREVA H2GEN,
Audi, BOC, BMW, Cenex, City of Copenhagen (Kobenhavns Kommune), Communauté
d’Agglomération Sarreguemines Confluence, CNR, Daimler AG, Danish Hydrogen Fuel,
EIFER, GNVERT, H2 Mobility Deutschland, Honda, Hydrogen Denmark (Brintbranchen),
Hydrogene de France, hySOLUTIONS, Hyundai, Icelandic New Energy Ltd, Intelligent
Energy, Islenska Vetnisfelagid (H2 Iceland), Kerkhof, ITM Power, Linde AG, McPhy Energy,
Michelin, Nel Hydrogen, Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management
(Ministerie Van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat), Nissan, OMV, OPEN ENERGI, Renault,
Renault Trucks, SEMITAN, Stedin, STEP, Symbio, Toyota, The University of Manchester,
WaterstofNet.
