MEPs pave way for European hydrogen highway

The nascent hydrogen car industry received a major boost this week after the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of new rules for hydrogen-powered cars, buses and lorries designed to drive adoption of the technology and accelerate the development of a continental hydrogen refuelling network.

MEPs gave the go ahead to a harmonised set of standards for the technology designed to improve safety, reduce costs and ensure that fuel cell powered vehicles built in different countries are compatible.

The European Commission, which developed the standards, said that the development of fuel cell technologies was being hampered by "a fragmented internal market of hydrogen powered vehicles, as well as complicated and costly approval procedures, which discourages the introduction of this environmentally-friendly technology".

European Commission vice-president for enterprise and industry Guenter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry hailed the vote as a "big step forward", arguing that common standards would not only help address safety concerns over hydrogen vehicles, but also bolster the competitiveness of European manufacturers investing in the technology.

The new rules are now expected to receive final approval from EU member states and pass into law at some point in the next few months.

MEPs also called for increased investment in the hydrogen manufacture and refueling infrastructure that will be required to underpin the adoption of hydrogen cars.