The first public access hydrogen refuelling station has officially opened in London.

The ITM Power station, located at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, was opened to the public by Andrew Jones MP, transport minister, and was supported by Toyota and fellow automotive manufacturer members of the European HyFive consortium; Hyundai, Honda and Renault’s technology partner Symbio FCell.

With easy access from the A316 and A308 trunk roads, it is available for commercial and private fleets operating fuel cell electric vehicles. The station is the first of three to be opened in the UK as part of the pan-European HyFive project, funded by the European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCHJU) and the UK Government Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

Jones, who today announced a £2 million government fund to support the roll-out of hydrogen vehicles in public and private sector fleets, said: “We are committed to making all cars and vans zero-emission by 2050, and hydrogen vehicles have a huge role to play in delivering cleaner, greener journeys.

“The new refuelling station at Teddington is just one of 12 stations opening up this year, backed by £5 million of government funding, which will make it easier for more people to switch to this exciting new technology.”

Paul Van der Burgh, Toyota (GB) president and managing director, said: “The opening of ITM Power’s new filling station is an excellent example of how a coordinated hydrogen fuel infrastructure is successfully being developed in the UK with backing from the HyFive consortium.

“We are pleased to continue our support for the wider provision of hydrogen fuel outlets, which will encourage increased customer uptake of zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.”

Hyundai Motor UK chief executive, Tony Whitehorn, said: “When we made the ix35 Fuel Cell commercially available we were blazing a trail, and we made a commitment to help in the development of the refuelling infrastructure – the fruits of which can clearly be seen with this, and other station launches happening this year.”

Dr Graham Cooley, ITM Power chief executive, added: “We are extremely pleased to have launched the first of the company’s HyFive hydrogen refuelling stations in London - providing clean fuel for a range of fuel cell electric vehicle types that are now available from the auto OEMs.”

Teams from ITM Power and BOC Linde are to commission and open a further four electrolyser-based refuelling stations in and around London before the end of 2016.