An ITM Power electrolyser-driven hydrogen refuelling station has been installed at the University of Nottingham as part of a new £6.5 million Energy Technologies Building at the Triumph Road Innovation Park. The university plans to make a fleet of up to five hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles available for leasing and testing to Nottingham drivers from next year. A fuel cell black cab taxi, likely one of the early Intelligent Energy models, will also be based at the Innovation Park.

“We’ll initially be doing some small trials with dual fuel commercial transit vans which we’ll be using to move our own equipment,” said Gavin Walker, professor of sustainable energy (pictured above). “But we will later be looking to work with mainstream car manufacturers … They don’t see hydrogen vehicles as being commercially viable until 2014 and 2015 so we’ll be positioning ourselves as the place in the Midlands to roll out these vehicles.”