Published October 10, 2012
By Philippe Crowe
Today Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Hyundai signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with organizations from the Nordic countries, to support the market introduction of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and hydrogen refueling infrastructure between 2014 and 2017.
This collaboration follows last month’s announcement by Honda’s CEO, Takanobu Ito, of the company’s development of an all-new fuel cell electric vehicle for Japan, the U.S. and Europe, to be launched in 2015.
It also follows Hyundai’s Paris Motor Show announcement that it will begin series production of its hydrogen ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle (known in the U.S. as the Tucson) for European public and private lease by the end of 2012.
Hyundai has already signed contracts with cities in Denmark and Sweden to lease the ix35 Fuel Cell to municipal fleets.
The collaboration also comes off the back of a month-long and high profile Europe Hydrogen Vehicle Road Tour, organized by H2 Moves Scandinavia, which moved across the UK last week.
Honda has been engaged in fuel cell research & development since the mid 1980s. The MoU signed today seeks to generate further dialogue with public and private stakeholders in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark on accelerating the market introduction of FCEVs and follows an agreement signed by car manufacturers in Europe in 2009, which identified 2015 as a potential point for market introduction in regions where hydrogen refueling is available.
The MoU was signed in the presence of the Danish Minister for Transport and the Director of the International Energy Agency, directorate of Sustainable Energy Policy and Technology at the 3GF conference in Copenhagen.
