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February 15th, 2013:

Hydrogen Vehicle

Feb 15th, 2013
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http://www.airproducts.com/company/news-center/2013/01/0130-uk-first-integrated-hydrogen-transport-system-to-be-built-in-london-and-south-east.aspx

UK’s First Integrated Hydrogen Transport System to be Built in London and South East

Led by Air Products, a consortium of companies with expertise in hydrogen transport infrastructure announced they will begin work on the three year LHNE (London Hydrogen Network Expansion) project, a government-backed initiative co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board to create the UK’s first hydrogen powered transport system across London and the South East.

The consortium will deliver a publicly accessible, state-of-the-art SmartFuel hydrogen fuelling station fast-fill 700 bar renewable hydrogen fuelling station network. LHNE will also deploy new hydrogen vehicles in London; including a number of Hyundai hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and Revolve hydrogen powered vans.

Creating this network is particularly important because the major car manufacturers have confirmed that the hydrogen vehicles available for purchase in the UK from 2014/15 require 700 bar fuelling systems. The LHNE project will upgrade Air Products’ existing fuelling station located near Heathrow Airport to 700 bar and deliver a brand new fuelling station with this specification in London. In addition, the project will increase accessibility to Air Products’ dual pressure fuelling station at Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, and the Transport for London station in Stratford. These developments will create the first network of 700 bar fuelling stations in the UK, ready to meet an increasing demand for hydrogen fuel. The functionality of this network will then be proved by a fleet of hydrogen vans which will be operated by Commercial Group as part of their delivery network.

Diana Raine, Air Products, European business manager Hydrogen Energy Solutions said: “The LHNE project will bring together all the components necessary to make hydrogen transport possible across London and the South East as we prepare for the arrival in the UK of commercially available hydrogen vehicles. We hope that this project will act as an exciting demonstration model to be replicated across the UK and Europe in years to come.”

“Air Products is delighted to be leading this project which represents a significant milestone in the development of the UK’s hydrogen fuelling infrastructure for hydrogen transport.”

The LHNE consortium comprises of Air Products, Cenex, Commercial Group, Element Energy, Heathrow Airport Ltd and Revolve Technologies Ltd and the project is co-funded by a grant from the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board. It is one of five research and development projects selected by the Technology Strategy Board in 2012 to help accelerate the adoption of energy systems using hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, bringing them into everyday use. The Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority will play a supporting role in the project.
Air Products employees in California will use the Equinox FCEV in promotional efforts for our Hydrogen Energy business, which will be commissioning nine new hydrogen fueling stations in the next year.
Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Headed to California

For almost three years, employees and visitors to our Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, U.S. campus had the unique opportunity to drive a Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell Vehicle based out of our corporate headquarters. The car became a familiar site throughout the Lehigh Valley, as more than 400 employees were trained as Hydrogen Ambassadors and participated in a wide variety of community outreach activities. These trained Air Products employees drove the hydrogen-powered cars over 30,000 miles while showing customers, prospects, investors, community stakeholders and Valley residents the future of clean transportation.

The Equinox FCEV is one of only 100 deployed by GM in 2009 as part of Project Driveway, the world’s largest-ever market test of fuel cell vehicles. According to GM, Project Driveway was about “real customers” giving “real-life feedback” on the vehicle as well as the ease of fueling it. And that’s something Air Products knows quite a bit about. Not only are we the world’s largest supplier of hydrogen to refineries for cleaner burning fuels, but we have been involved in more than 150 hydrogen fueling station projects throughout the United States and 19 countries worldwide. The Equinox vehicle refueled at Air Products’ own hydrogen fueling station, located at our corporate headquarters in Trexlertown (pictured below).

General Motors is moving all of their hydrogen fuel cell cars to California and Hawaii — focal points for early commercialization of these vehicles in the United States. Air Products employees will have the opportunity to drive the vehicle in California and use the car in promotional efforts for our Hydrogen Energy Business, which will be commissioning nine new hydrogen fueling stations in the next year. In addition, we plan to continue the Hydrogen Ambassador Program in Southern California and promote the innovative culture of Air Products to our customers and communities.