One of Europe’s leading test and development facilities for whole vehicles, components and systems, Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, has opened a new Air Products SmartFuel hydrogen fuelling station as it prepares for a take-off in fuel cell vehicles.

The fuelling station was officially opened by Business Minister Michael Fallon on his first day in the job, and makes Millbrook the only vehicle testing site in the UK with its own hydrogen fuelling station.

The SmartFuel hydrogen fuelling station was opened by the Business Minister during the Low Carbon Vehicle 2012 conference, and represents a major step forward for the development of a hydrogen infrastructure designed to cut carbon emissions from transport.

The station’s dual pressure fuelling capability (350 and 700 bar) allows it to power fuel cell demonstration vehicles that store hydrogen at a higher pressure, and it will be the country’s only mobile hydrogen station capable of refuelling both buses and cars.

Business Minister Michael Fallon said: “I’m pleased to open the UK’s first 700 bar hydrogen fuelling station at a vehicle testing site. Government is committed to supporting the advancement of low carbon vehicle technology, which is why we have pledged £400 million over the course of this parliament to support the development of ultra-low carbon vehicles.”

Millbrook’s investment, along with partners Transport for London (TfL), and Air Products and supported by funding from the Technology Strategy Board and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), will further its ongoing development and testing of low emissions related automotive technologies and will ultimately help with government decisions around transport fuel policies, which will promote the right fuelling infrastructure across the country.

The fuelling station has been supplied and installed by Air Products, which has also recently provided a station to Transport for London to power one of the largest hydrogen-fuelled bus fleets in Europe. As well as recently opening fuelling stations in Freiburg and Hamburg, as co-ordinators of the EU funded HyTEC project Air Products has just opened a new fuelling station at Heathrow airport to power a set of fuel cell taxis.

Managing director of Millbrook Miguel Fragoso explains: “Millbrook has a strong relationship with all of the partners involved in this project and is delighted to provide the UK's first commercially available hydrogen refuelling station at an automotive test facility.

“Millbrook tests and develops the widest diversity of low carbon vehicles, and has the benefit of working with many vehicle manufacturers across a variety of markets and sectors, from motorcycles and passenger cars to buses and trucks. Millbrook is playing a key role in bringing decarbonisation to market.”