A £20m boost to the hydrogen fuel economy was announced by a government minister as she toured one of Swindon’s innovative hydrogen fuel facilities.

Members of The Hydrogen Hub were giving the energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry a tour of the Johnson Matthey hydrogen refuelling station at Lydiard Fields when she made the announcement.

Mrs Perry said: “Clean, green and safe, hydrogen has an exciting role to play powering the UK but needs to be cheaper and more widely available to live up to its potential.

"This £20 million funding boost, part of our modern Industrial Strategy, will help to address these challenges so that we can sustain the exciting momentum building in our low carbon hydrogen economy, creating high-value jobs up and down the country.

“This technology has the potential to secure clean, reliable and flexible energy for families and local businesses, whilst creating a new innovative sector in the UK, growth, and high-quality jobs.

“I look forward to seeing how the Hydrogen Hub will continue developing its key role promoting innovation to bring down costs and driving future investment into hydrogen the UK.”

Hydrogen Hub manager Clare Jackson: “We were very excited to welcome the minister and share the success stories that we have had so far, as well as take the opportunity to showcase upcoming projects that will demonstrate the benefits of the technology.”

Hydrogen and fuel-cell technology has been in the development phase for over 20 years and there are a number of hydrogen-powered cars now available, such as the Honda Clarity, which is built in Swindon.

The Hydrogen Hub brings together developers in the hydrogen and fuel cell industry with government, local authorities, businesses and customers to promote sustainable and clean hydrogen fuel. Swindon has two hydrogen re-fuelling stations, one at the Honda plant and a second at Lydiard Fields.

For more details of the Johnson Matthey hydrogen refuelling station visit www.matthey.com.