OREANDA-NEWS. ITM Power, the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce the completion of the 700 bar upgrade to the M1 Rotherham hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) funded by The UK Government, Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

On 28 March 2015 the company announced that it had been awarded a total of ?2.89m by the HRS infrastructure Grants Scheme, run by OLEV. The award was to build two new HRS in London, sited with strategic partners and for the upgrading of four existing ITM Power refuelling stations including the M1 Rotherham HRS. The HRS, originally funded by Innovate UK, is located at the Hydrogen Mini Grid at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham just of J33 of the M1, close to the junction with the M18. The HRS is an important strategic part of the UK hydrogen infrastructure enabling vehicles from London to access the North of England.

Using the existing electrolyser to generate hydrogen from an on-site wind turbine, the original 350 bar dispenser has been upgraded to a new BOC/Linde system capable of dispensing hydrogen at both 700 and 350 bar.  The higher pressure of 700 bar satisfies the requirements of a broader range of vehicles and enables fuel cell electric vehicles such at the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai ix35 to achieve their full driving range of over 300 miles.  New and existing customers will also benefit from automated payment facilities.

Following site preparation, the joint commissioning teams of ITM & BOC/Linde completed commissioning in a period of two weeks.  Focus has now shifted to the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence in Rainham, where equipment is undergoing commissioning ahead of the official opening on the 11 October.

ITM Power CEO, Dr. Graham Cooley, said: "The M1 hydrogen refuelling station is a flagship green hydrogen station which has an important strategic role serving the Northern M1 corridor.  This important upgrade strengthens our developing portfolio of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure and forms an important part of the UKs hydrogen roll out."

ITM Power manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions which are rapid response and high pressure that meet the requirements for grid balancing and energy storage services, and for the production of clean fuel for transport, renewable heat and chemicals.  ITM Power plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 and is a founder member of the Social Stock Exchange. The company received ?4.9m as a strategic investment from JCB in March 2015; signed a forecourt siting agreement with Shell in September 2015 and a fuel agreement with Toyota in October 2015. The Company currently has ?16.00m of projects under contract and a further ?2.08m of contracts in the final stages of negotiation constituting a total pipeline of ?18.08m (subject to exchange rate variation).