Fleets in both the public and private sectors will be eligible to get 75 per cent off the cost of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles thanks to a new £2m Government fund. The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Fleet Support Scheme has been set up to allow local authorities, police services, fire brigades and private companies to bid for funding in order to add hydrogen-vehicles to their existing fleets. The fund was launched by the Government's Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and has the potential to increase the number of hydrogen fuel cell cars and vans on the UK's roads by 100 by next spring. In 2014, the government committed an additional £5m for 12 hydrogen refuelling stations, with Transport Minister Andrew Jones launching the second of the stations on May 10th. All 12 stations are expected to be opened by the end of 2016: the first step towards a national network. Mr Jones said: 'We are always looking at new ways to make the vehicles of the future cleaner, and hydrogen fuel cells are an important part of our vision for almost all cars and vans to be zero-emission by 2050. 'This funding, along with the growing network of hydrogen refuelling stations opening in England, will help businesses and the public sector to get on board with this exciting technology. This is further proof that we are leading the way in making journeys cleaner and protecting the environment.î The subsidy should allow businesses to cover up to 75 per cent of the costs for the new vehicles bought by April 2017. The market for Hydrogen FCEVs is still relatively new but is already beginning to gather pace, with vehicle manufacturers so far introducing a small number of models and global production currently limited to a few thousand units. The UK is one of only five launch markets for the unique market: both Hyundai and Toyota have already released their debut FCEV models. Tony Whitehorn, CEO, Hyundai Motor UK, said: 'When we made the ix35 Fuel Cell commercially available we were blazing a trail, and we made a commitment to help in the development of the refuelling infrastructure _ the fruits of which can clearly be seen with this, and other station launches happening this year. "We also know how well received the ix35 Fuel Cell is with our existing fleet customers so we're very happy to be involved with the government's new £2m fund to encourage more businesses to switch to hydrogen.î
