On June 14 it was launched the second pan-European deployment of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, and passenger and commercial fuel cell vehicles. The six-year H2ME 2 project brings together 37 partners from across Europe. It will include the deployment and operation of 1,230 fuel cell vehicles, the addition of 20 extra hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) to the European network and will test the ability of electrolyzer-HRS to help balance the electrical grid.
The project has been developed under the auspices of the Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME) initiative and supported by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) with funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 program. The H2ME 2 project will complement and build on a first FCH JU-funded project developed by H2ME partners, H2ME 1 (www.H2ME.eu), with plans for 300 fuel cell vehicles and 29 HRS. Together, the H2ME projects will form the largest EU funded project for hydrogen mobility and fuel cell vehicle deployment.
The €100 million H2ME 2 project, funded with a further €35 million grant from the FCH JU, will significantly expand the European hydrogen vehicles fleet and in so doing, aims to confirm the technical and commercial readiness of vehicles, fueling stations and hydrogen production techniques. H2ME 2 will produce recommendations and identify any gaps that may prevent full commercialization, as well as collating results to support future investments. Together the H2ME 1 and H2ME 2 projects demonstrate the breadth and depth of the commitment to hydrogen-fueled road transport as a pan-European solution to the need to have viable, competitive, alternatives to fossil fuels.
“Today marks a significant day in the future of European transport,” said Ben Madden, Director, Element Energy and project coordinator for H2ME 1 and H2ME 2. “Our aim has been to help bring the key businesses and public bodies investing in hydrogen mobility in Europe together to work on the common goal of making hydrogen-fueled transport a reality in Europe.”
Source: H2ME