Shell has opened its first hydrogen refuelling station in the UK at Cobham services on the M25. The new station has been built by ITM power and is the first of three sites set to open on Shell premises in 2017.
The oil company already has Shell branded units open in California and Germany, but the Cobham station is the firm’s first UK location, and the fourth from ITM Power.
Hydrogen is produced by the on-site electrolyser, which uses electricity to generate the gas from water. This will then allow a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to travel around 300 miles on a tank which can be filled in a few minutes. The new station will be capable of refuelling at both 350 and 700 bar.
Sinead Lynch, Shell’s UK Country Chair, said: “We believe the journey to a low-carbon economy requires a coordinated and collaborative approach among organisations in the transport sector, including providers of energy and transport vehicles, users of transport vehicles, local authorities as well as government.
“The Cobham retail site is a small but significant first step toward developing infrastructure needed for increased usage of hydrogen vehicles.”
Dr. Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power, said: “ITM Power is pleased to partner with Shell to bring their first forecourt hydrogen refuelling site to life. Electrolytic hydrogen is the cleanest, and lowest cost, renewable fuel available for fuel cell electric vehicles. We look forward to working with Shell to introduce additional hydrogen stations on their forecourts in the UK in the near future.”
Paul Van der Burgh, Toyota (GB) President and Managing Director, said: “The opening of Shell’s first forecourt hydrogen refuelling station at Cobham, the seventh hydrogen station in the country, is the result of collaboration, cooperation and determination from government and industry leaders to bring the benefits of sustainable ultra-low emission transport to the UK.
“At Toyota, we are committed to playing a leading role in environmental and technological advances in the automotive industry, and this new station will help us to introduce more customers to the benefits of our fuel cell vehicles, including our Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car. We would like to congratulate the team involved on this significant new project.”
You can find hydrogen refuelling points on Zap-Map by using the connector or speed filters.
