shell zero emissons hydrogen forecourt cobham

Shell has opened its first zero-emissions refuelling station in the UK.

ITM Power created the site for hydrogen-powered cars at the oil company’s Cobham service station on the M25.

It uses an electrolyser that requires only water and electricity to generate hydrogen gas.

A hydrogen vehicle could now fill up with enough fuel to drive 430 miles, the company said.

“Hydrogen has the potential to become a clean and versatile transport fuel for the future, and the Cobham hydrogen site is one of the ways Shell is encouraging the use of alternative fuels to contribute to the energy transition,” said Matthew Tipper, vice president of Future Fuels at Shell.

It is the first of three hydrogen stations Shell plans to open in the UK this year and comes following the success of sites in California and Germany, where the company is part of a joint venture to open a network of up to 400 hydrogen sites by 2023.

“The Cobham retail site is a small but significant first step toward developing infrastructure needed for increased usage of hydrogen vehicles,” said Shell UK county chair Sinead Lynch.

The station at Cobham is the third hydrogen site in the UK to be created by ITM Power and opened as part of the HyFive project.

“ITM Power is pleased to partner with Shell to bring their first forecourt hydrogen fuelling site to life,” said ITM Power CEO Dr Graham Cooley.

“Electrolytic Hydrogen is the cleanest and lowest cost renewable fuel available for fuel cell electric vehicles.”

The HyFive project has been part-funded by the EU Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, and the UK’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles.