Leicestershire County to be Test Site for Hydrogen Fuel Electrolyser
Technology which could see “pollution-free cars” developed for the mass market is to be road-tested in Leicestershire.
Researchers at Loughborough University have been given planning permission for a plant to produce and store fuel for hydrogen- powered vehicles.
They have applied for permission to build an electrolyser, which will create compressed hydrogen gas that is pumped into the fuel cells of specially-adapted vehicles.
Academics say it would not only be the first step in running university vehicles on environmentally-friendly hydrogen, but would help develop the technology for the mass car market.
Professor Rob Thring, of the university’s department of aeronautical and automotive engineering, is leading the project.
He said: “This is technology which is going to make a huge difference to motoring in the future. An alternative is needed to conventional fuels because they are polluting and resources are finite.
“As oil stocks fall, the price goes up and that will be passed on to the motorists.
“There’s no limit to the amount of hydrogen we have so I believe this has to be the way forward.
“It is not a commercial proposition at the moment as there are not many hydrogen-powered cars, but the research we will be able to do will hopefully convince major car manufacturers they need to start making cars that run on hydrogen.”
Professor Thring said he had held discussions with the university’s estates office and catering firm Imago about getting them to run hydrogen vehicles on campus.
He said: “They are enthusiastic about it and it is an aim we have but the problem is getting funding for vehicles.”
He said he would be looking for cash from groups like the East Midlands Development Agency and the Engineering and Physics Research Council.
Hydrogen fuel is an alternative to petrol and vehicles run on it produce water from their exhausts rather than polluting gases.
The university has one of the few hydrogen refuelling pumps in the UK and buys in the gas, at £80 a tank, from a firm.
With the new plant, it will be able to make and store its own fuel – and hopes to have it up and running by March next year.
Hydrogen-fuelled vehicles designed so far include £60,000 Microcabs which do about 150 miles on one charge and have a top speed of about 50mph.
Dr Rupert Gammon, chairman of the British Midlands Hydrogen Forum, said: “The research that this facility will allow will help improve fuel efficiency and that is vital in getting the car industry to embrace the technology.
“Loughborough is one of the few places in the region to have a station where hydrogen vehicles can be refuelled.
“We need to increase the infrastructure around the whole of the UK because we have a chicken and egg situation. The idea is that the cars will follow when there are more refuelling stations but we are only likely to get the refuelling stations if there are enough cars on the road.
“It’s an emerging industry and Loughborough is playing a very important role in our work.”
