BMW is planning to roll out a series of hydrogen-powered production cars by the end of the decade – but the UK risks lagging behind.
Speaking at a hydrogen tech summit ahead of the Tokyo motor show today (Tuesday), BMW’s general manager for hydrogen technology, Dr Juergen Guldner, said he would like to see the UK government ‘get behind’ hydrogen fuel by backing a filling station network.
Currently the UK has only 12 hydrogen filling stations – this actually dropped last year when Shell shut three, citing a lack of confidence in the fuels.
Shell had planned to expand its three sites – previously located throughout Britain, saying in early 2020 that it was working to open three more by the end of 2021. The sites never opened, though, as Shell felt hydrogen fuel cell cars failed to appeal to the public.
By comparison, in Japan there are already 164 operational hydrogen filling stations with plans to expand this to 1,000 by 2030.
Meanwhile, in Europe there are plans to ensure all major highways have access to hydrogen filling stations along with towns with more than 100,000 residents.
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