Hydrogen first for Shell in the UK

Shell has launched its first hydrogen refuelling station in the UK at its Cobham service station on the M25. The new hydrogen station is supplied by ITM Power and is the first fully branded and public hydrogen refuelling site in the UK. It is the first of three hydrogen stations Shell plans to open in the UK in 2017.

Matthew Tipper, Vice President, Future Fuels at Shell said: ‘Hydrogen has the potential to become a clean and versatile transport fuel for the future, and the Cobham hydrogen site is one of the ways Shell is encouraging the use of alternative fuels to contribute to the energy transition. This will provide customers with hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, with the ability to refuel simply and quickly at one of the largest petrol stations in the UK.’

The opening of Shell’s first UK hydrogen site follows the success of sites in California, and in Germany where Shell is part of a joint venture with the ambition to open a network of up to 400 hydrogen sites by 2023. Shell is in the process of assessing the potential of future projects in the US, Canada, Switzerland, Austria, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

In addition, Shell is a founding member of the Hydrogen Council, announced in January 2017, comprising energy companies, OEMs and technology partners with a collective pledge to accelerate investment in the development and commercialisation of the hydrogen and fuel cell sectors.

Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles convert hydrogen into electricity and produce only heat and water when driven. They offer an alternative to the conventional internal combustion engine, a driving experience similar to electric cars, and no local emissions. Hydrogen vehicles are reportedlyable to drive up to 700 km without refuelling and can be refuelled in a few minutes at a standard forecourt with a hydrogen pump.

The hydrogen station at Cobham is the third hydrogen site in the UK to be supplied by ITM Power and opened as part of the HyFive project – an initiative partially funded by the European Fuel Cell, Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, and the UK’s Office of Low Emission Vehicles. The hydrogen is generated on-site at Cobham using an electrolyser which requires only water and electricity to generate the hydrogen gas.

In-car payment
Shell has also recently launched a new cashless payment app at its service stations in the UK, currently available for use by Jaguar Land Rover customers. Rather than using a card at the pump, or queuing in the forecourt shop, owners who install the Shell app can simply drive up to any pump at a participating Shell service station in the UK and use the vehicle’s touchscreen to select how much fuel they require and pay using PayPal or Apple Pay. Android Pay will be added later in 2017.

An electronic receipt will be displayed on the touchscreen, so customers can leave the forecourt confident of having paid. A receipt will also be sent directly from the pump to the driver’s email address so it can be added to accounting or expenses software. Unlike current phone-based payment methods, the app uses geolocation technology and a cloud based pre-payment check with the PayPal or Apple Pay wallet. The Shell app will be rolled out in additional markets across the globe during 2017.

For more on the UK fuel retailing sector, see Petroleum Review’s Retail Marketing Survey supplement, to be published in April 2017.