£2 million to promote hydrogen-fuelled fleet vehicles

Plans to make nearly every vehicle in the country zero-emission by 2050 have been encouraged with the launch of a £2 million government fund to encourage more businesses to switch to hydrogen-fuelled vehicles.

The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Fleet Support Scheme, launched by the government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), 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.

If successful, the £2 million fund could bring up to 100 more hydrogen fuel cell cars and vans onto British roads by next spring – triple the number of vehicles currently in use. The money will cover up to 75 per cent of the costs of new vehicles bought by April 2017, as well as the cost of running them for up to three years.

The new fund follows the government committing £5 million in 2014 through the Hydrogen for Transport Advancement Programme for 12 hydrogen refuelling stations.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones, who opened the new station at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, said: “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.

“This funding, along with the growing network of hydrogen refuelling 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.”

Bids for the FCEV Fleet Support Scheme must be submitted by Monday 4 July 2016. Successful bidders will be informed later this year.