14 DAY TRIAL // Automakers BMW, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota are dead set on reshaping the European transportation sector. To this end, they have announced a partnership that aims to bring as many as 110 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on roads in Europe, and thus boost the popularity of such cars.
Information shared with the public says that these environmentally friendly vehicles are to be set loose on European roads as part of a scheme dubbed HyFive, Business Green reports.
According to the same source, the hydrogen fuel cell cars are to be deployed in the following cities: London, Munich, Stuttgart, Bolzano, Copenhagen, and Innsbruck.
The trouble is that, in order for this endeavor to prove a successful one, Europe's refueling infrastructure must be hydrogen-vehicles friendly. Together with fuel cell manufacturers, said automakers wish to tackle this problem by means of a £31 million (€37.39 million / $51.56) scheme.
The scheme in question is funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking and is the result of a collaboration between 15 different partners including the five automakers, ITM Power, PE INTERNATIONAL, the Copenhagen Hydrogen Network, Linde, OMV, Element Energy, the Institute for Innovative Technology and the European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.
Under the HyFive scheme, the £31 million are to be spent on ramping up refueling infrastructure in major European cities. More precisely, new standardized refueling infrastructure is to be set in place in several locations across the continent.
Should things go according to plan, it will not be long before London becomes home to two new refueling stations. By next year, Denmark and Austria should also accommodate for two and one such stations, respectively.
The London Mayor's Office is also involved in this scheme, and is helping coordinate it. In a recent interview with the press, London Mayor Boris Johnson said, “To sell this technology we need to show Londoners and the wider world that it is not science fiction.”
“By building the vehicles and the filling stations and allowing people to kick the tyres we will be able to demonstrate that hydrogen is a viable option and that London is at the forefront of efforts to make it so,” Boris Johnson went on to argue.
By the looks of it, Hyundai is also confident that the HyFive scheme will meet its goal. Thus, in a recent statement, Byung Kwon Rhim, the current president of Hyundai Motor Europe, said that, “The collective mid-term goal is to grow a pan-European refuelling network and ensure more vehicles are seen on the road.”
“The 15 partners of the HyFive project will work together to advance the awareness, understanding, viability and uptake of zero-emission hydrogen-powered vehicles, like the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell,” the President of Hyundai Motor Europe added.