Car giant Honda opened the UK's first public hydrogen filling station today in a move aimed at boosting the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The new station is located at the carmaker's plant in Swindon and is operated by industrial gases company BOC. Honda said it looks like a conventional filling station, with a similar time to fill a vehicle as with petrol or diesel.
Thomas Brachmann, of Honda, said: "Hydrogen fuel cell technology is the ultimate transport solution, meeting environmental demands but also delivering the range and performance that customers expect.
"The co-operation on this project between vehicle manufacturers like Honda, infrastructure providers like BOC and the public sector can be a blueprint for future development."
Mike Huggon, managing director of BOC, said: "This is the first commercial-scale, open-access station in the UK.
"It demonstrates that we can build the infrastructure needed to establish a hydrogen-powered transport system. But even with private and public support - as we have here in Swindon - we need Government commitment to make this work across the country as a whole.