EU Approves $1.5 Billion Aid for the Development of Hydrogen Cars

The European Union has approved research initiatives worth €940 million or about $1.5 billion to promote the development of hydrogen-powered cars, in an attempt to reduce air pollution and heavy reliance on imported oil. The aid is part of a €9.3 billion ($15 billion) research initiative for electronics, computers, medicines and airplanes.

The hydrogen car program is 50 percent financed by companies that include Royal Dutch Shell and BMW and 50 percent financed by the European Union over a period of six years. The unprecedented EU public-private partnerships in research and development, aim to help the bloc raise R&D spending to 3 percent of gross domestic product from 1.8 percent and to bridge the gap between Europe and the United States and Japan.