A new project to create a nationwide Hydrogen fueling infrastructure in Great Britain had its kickoff meeting at Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) in Bedfordshire. The project is called UK-HyNet and aims to create a complete infrastructure to support the hydrogen economy by 2015. According to Nissan, the network will help the widespread use of hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles (HFCVs), which are expected to become more common by 2015. The project is part of Great Britain's Hydrogen Roadmap. The press release, which you can read after the jump, lumps together the future of both pure electric vehicles and HFCVs by using the term low-carbon mobility. The Brits will be able to compare their H2 progress with a nearby country, Norway, to see how they're doing.
[Source: Nissan]
PRESS RELEASE:
NISSAN HOSTS THE LAUNCH OF THE UK HYDROGEN NETWORK (UK-HYNET) PROJECT
On Tuesday 23rd June 2009, Nissan European R&D hosted a meeting at the Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) in Bedfordshire to launch the UK Hydrogen Network (UK-HyNet) project.
UK-HyNet is an initiative that aims to position the country as one of the world's leading hydrogen economies by 2015, by creating a network of hydrogen infrastructure throughout the UK.
While the UK already has clusters of world-leading knowledge and technological innovation in hydrogen, fuel cells and low-carbon energy systems, efforts have until now remained localised- and so dwarfed by national projects abroad. Under UK-HyNet, all these activities will become part of a coordinated national programme that can compete on the international stage.
The majority of automotive manufacturers plan to start the commercial mass deployment of hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles (HFCVs) in 2015. It is the intention of UK-HyNet to create the conditions by which the UK becomes the country of choice for the car makers to launch their first HFCV fleets. This will provide a platform for the regeneration of the UK's car industry, a showcase and test bed for its innovative technologies and a launch pad for a potentially huge and sustainable clean technology industry with enormous domestic and export market, wealth-generating and job-creation potential – in short, part of the 'green route out of recession'.
In parallel with UK-HyNet, a UK Hydrogen Roadmap is being developed which will set out a strategic plan for the emerging hydrogen industry. UK-HyNet puts in place a practical mechanism for the implementation of the strategy articulated in the UK Hydrogen Roadmap.
Nissan continues to draw attention to the growth of the UK infrastructure and support for low carbon mobility – acting as a catalyst to bring together like-minded organisations including local and national government, academic institutions, regional development agencies, technology suppliers and potential end-users in order to assure a clean future for mobility in the UK.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance will introduce zero-emission vehicles in the United States and Japan starting with electric vehicles from 2010. The Alliance aims to take the leadership of zero-emission mobility in the automotive industry and will start mass-marketing electric vehicles globally in 2012. To date the Alliance has signed two final agreements in Europe with Portugal and the Principality of Monaco. The two agreements formulate concrete proposals – ranging from incentives and infrastructures to education programmes – creating the right conditions for mass availability and acceptance of electric vehicles.
Along with this near-term plan to introduce electric vehicles to the mass-market globally by 2012, the FCV work is a longer-range programme designed to enhance practicality and reduce costs of the technology, and includes the plan to release newer generation, developmental FCVs in the 2010s. Nissan are now developing a third generation of their proprietary fuel cell stack, with increased longevity, greater power and further weight reductions.
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