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The UK’s first open
access hydrogen vehicle
refuelling station has been
officially opened at Honda’s
manufacturing facility in
Swindon. Built and operated by
industrial gases company BOC, a
member of The Linde Group, the
venture is the result of a
partnership between Honda, BOC
and economic development company
Forward Swindon.
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The new station is open to
anyone developing or using
hydrogen-powered vehicles. It
can fill vehicles at both 350
bar and 700 bar, the two
standard filling pressures
adopted by the world’s major
vehicle manufacturers.
Based on the grounds of Honda of
the UK Manufacturing in Swindon,
the station aims to encourage
the development of both
hydrogen-powered vehicles – such
as the Honda FCX Clarity fuel
cell car – and the refuelling
infrastructure to support them.
It also creates a strategic link
half way along the M4 between
London and Swansea. As a fully
operational, commercial-scale
station using tested technology,
it is a solution that can be
replicated across the country
and so create the essential
network necessary for the
widespread uptake of
hydrogen-powered transport. |
Among the many innovations of
the new station is that it can
fill vehicles ‘back-to-back’
from a bank of hydrogen
cylinders. This means that
vehicles can be filled one after
another without having to wait
for more hydrogen to be
generated.
Another feature is the design:
it looks just like a
conventional filling station and
the time to fill a vehicle is
comparable with conventional
fuels. The Honda FCX Clarity,
for example, takes less than
five minutes. For the consumer,
then, the experience should be
very similar to refuelling at a
normal petrol station.
Speaking at the opening of the
facility, Richard Kemp-Harper,
Lead Technologist for Transport
and Energy at the Technology
Strategy Board, said: “The
change from conventional
transport systems to
sustainable, low carbon
alternatives is one that can
only be made through businesses
and government working in
partnership to develop
innovative solutions. This new
refuelling station gives a real
glimpse of the role hydrogen can
play in practice. It is a great
example of the kind of
collaboration and innovation we
need.”
Mike Huggon, Managing Director
of BOC in the UK and Ireland,
said: “This is the first
commercial-scale, open-access
station in the UK. It
demonstrates that we can build
the infrastructure needed to
establish a hydrogen-powered
transport system. But even with
private and public support – as
we have here in Swindon – we
need Government commitment to
make this work across the
country as a whole. We can
provide the tools but the
Government has to create the
policy framework in which we can
build the low carbon
infrastructure of tomorrow.”
Ian Piper, Chief Executive of
economic development company
Forward Swindon, said: “I’m
proud that we have been involved
in such an exciting
public-private partnership.
Forward Swindon was the
initiator of this project and
brought together the funding:
it’s a great example of how
innovative projects can come to
life in the UK, even in a
recession. Swindon’s strategic
location makes it the natural
home for new transport
technologies, and I’m confident
this facility will encourage a
growing interest and take up.”
Thomas Brachmann, Head of
Electrical Powertrain R&D at
Honda, commented: “Hydrogen fuel
cell technology is the ultimate
transport solution; meeting
environmental demands but also
delivering the range and
performance that customers
expect. The cooperation on this
project between vehicle
manufacturers like Honda,
infrastructure providers like
BOC and the public sector can be
a blueprint for future
development.”
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