Government launches £7m hydrogen and fuel cell competition

Up to £7.2 million of funding is being pumped into the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Demonstration programme by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The programme is the latest in a series of measures for stimulating low carbon technologies first announced by the Government in the 2009 budget.

Hydrogen and fuel cells have the potential to help drastically reduce carbon emissions because they emit only water and heat as by-products. The energy conversion in fuel cells is more efficient than those of other technologies, such as the internal combustion engine.

The programme is being managed by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), which operates across various sectors of the UK economy, including energy, to stimulate innovation in areas that offer the greatest scope for boosting UK growth and productivity. UK businesses are being encouraged to apply to the board for a share of the cash to develop and test new technologies. The programme will cover transport and stationary market applications and enable demonstration set-ups of projects that have been successfully taken through the research, development and prototyping stage.

The Government is hoping that the programme will support demonstration projects such as a fleet of fuel cell and hydrogen vehicles; production of hydrogen from non-carbon sources and its use as an energy carrier; scalable processes and equipment for the mass manufacture and testing of fuel cells and fuel cells modules; and in-line product testing and testing for performance and reliability under real-world operating conditions.

Energy and Climate Change Minister, David Kidney, praised the work that has already been undertaken by businesses in this area, commenting that the UK had the right combination of expertise, ingenuity and determination to bring hydrogen and fuel cell technology to the global market. He said the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Demonstration programme would help to advance new energy technology, keeping the UK at the forefront of advanced green manufacturing