The development of fuel cell vehicles took a major step forward yesterday (September 20th) after Honda opened the UK's first commercial hydrogen filling station.

Built and operated by industrial gases company BOC, a member of The Linde Group, the facility is located in Swindon.

It is the result of a partnership between Honda, BOC and economic development company Forward Swindon.

Open to anyone with a hydrogen-powered vehicle, it can fill vehicles at both 350 bar and 700 bar, the two standard filling pressures adopted by major automakers.

Until now, consumers have been unwilling to purchase hydrogen fuel cell vehicles without a proper refuelling network, while fuel companies would not invest in new facilities without more hydrogen cars on the roads.

It is hoped that the filling station will break the "impasse" created by this situation.

Thomas Brachmann, head of electrical powertrain R&D at Honda, described the venture as a "blueprint for the future".

"Hydrogen fuel cell technology is the ultimate transport solution; meeting environmental demands but also delivering the range and performance that customers expect," he said at the opening of the facility.

Richard Kemp-Harper, lead technologist for transport and energy at the Technology Strategy Board, said: "This new refuelling station gives a real glimpse of the role hydrogen can play in practice."

The expansion of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles took another leap forward yesterday after it was revealed that the UK has developed analytical methods to detect trace impurities in hydrogen to international standards.

ITM Power's joint study with the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) also showed that hydrogen produced by electrolysis does not require extensive purification to meet those standards.

Sufficiently pure hydrogen is essential to the uptake of hydrogen vehicles, as small impurities can seriously affect fuel cell performance.

Dr Simon Bourne, chief technology officer at ITM Power, said: "It shows that hydrogen produced by electrolysis is essentially compliant with the ISO standards without the need for additional purification plant, only requiring removal of water and oxygen - something which can be achieved using low cost methods."

To meet the industrial need for accurate and traceable hydrogen purity analyses, the NPL has developed a suite of analysis methods with ITM Power, Air Products and the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association.

Sources:



UK's first public hydrogen fuel filling station (20/09/11)



Fuelling the Future – a first for hydrogen refuelling (20/09/11)



ITM & NPL Joint Study Shows Electrolytic Hydrogen Requires Little Purification to Meet Draft ISO Standards (20/09/11)

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