ITM Power to build hydrogen station in East London

ITM Power last month signed a memorandum of understanding with The Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME) to build a solar hydrogen refuelling station at the Centre in East London. The two groups will collaborate to try to make the CEME campus a major hub for fuel cell vehicle (FCV) training and information, and will include a FCV maintenance training centre, a hydrogen fuel and FCV research institute, and become the base for ITM Power's hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) maintenance team in London. It will also house initiatives such as a FCEV car club, a range of workshops and hydrogen electrolyser development work when it opens this Summer.

ITM Power and CEME to develop new hydrogen fuel station in East London

A new hydrogen fuel station is set to open in East London per a new deal between ITM Power, a leading developer of fuel cells, and the Center for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME). The new station will make hydrogen fuel more accessible, but there are a very limited number of fuel cell vehicles currently available in the United Kingdom. In October of last year, Toyota began delivering its first fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai, to Transport for London. The agency has been using these vehicles for various transportation purposes since then.

Hydrogen fuel station to be open to the public in the summer of this year

The new hydrogen fuel station is expected to be fully operational by summer. The station will be open to the public, providing those with fuel cell vehicles the ability to acquire the hydrogen fuel they need. The station will be part of a larger hub, which will have training and research facilities in order to study the capabilities of hydrogen fuel cells and fueling technologies. This will be the second of three similar stations that are being built with the aid of ITM Power.

HyFIVE project aims to establish a hydrogen infrastructure

ITM Power is part of the HyFIVE project, which aims to expand the use of hydrogen fuel throughout the United Kingdom. The project has received more than $30 million in funding from the European Union and has begun to focus on the development of a comprehensive hydrogen fuel infrastructure. This infrastructure is needed in order to support the continued growth of the clean transportation sector, especially as more automakers begin showing favor for fuel cell vehicles.

Station will produce hydrogen fuel through the use of solar energy

The new station will make use of solar energy systems owned by CEME to produce hydrogen fuel. ITM Power notes that the solar energy is, basically, being stored as hydrogen, as this serves as a form of chemical storage. Renewable hydrogen fuel production is becoming a priority for companies interested in developing a comprehensive infrastructure, as conventional methods of producing hydrogen are heavily reliant on fossil-fuels.