London Hydrogen Network Expansion (LHNE)

London will get the UK’s first public network of hydrogen refuelling stations, capable of pumping 700-bar green hydrogen into fuel-cell vehicles. The London Hydrogen Network Expansion (LHNE) project aims to break out of the small-scale demonstration phase that has so far limited hydrogen transport in the UK. Currently, hydrogen vehicles and their refuelling infrastructure exist only in isolated, often private, pilot projects—too fragmented to attract vehicle manufacturers or support commercial fleets. LHNE will link production, distribution, and retail into a single integrated system, serving Europe’s largest urban hydrogen vehicle fleet. If successful, the project could trigger genuine commercial rollout of hydrogen vehicles in London by 2014–2020, matching the timeline suggested by the UKH2Mobility study. For the public, this means a visible, usable refuelling network that makes zero-emission driving a practical choice rather than a niche experiment. For the energy grid, it demonstrates how green hydrogen can quietly replace diesel in heavy transport—delivery vans, refuse trucks, taxis—without requiring every vehicle to carry a massive battery.