Hydrogen buses which emit only water were unveiled today and will start services inLondon later this month.

The buses use the latest hydrogen fuel cell technology and will run on route RV1 from the Tower of London to Covent Garden in central London.

There will be eight buses and they will use a specially-designed maintenance facility in Stratford, east London, which has a hydrogen refuelling station.

It is hoped that over the next two years there will be six refuelling sites so that as many as 150 hydrogen-powered vehicles, including 15 taxis, can operate in the capital.

London mayor Boris Johnson said today: “These buses are a marvel of hydrogen technology, emitting only water rather than belching out harmful pollutants. They will run through the most polluted part of the city, through two air pollution hotspots, helping to improve London’s air quality.

“This is just another way that our city is harnessing pioneering low-emission public transport to improve quality of life, whether the (hop-on, hop-off) New Bus for London electric vehicles or my public bike hire scheme.”

The hydrogen buses are jointly funded by Transport for London, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the European Union via the Clean Hydrogen in Cities project. Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: “I’m pleased that the Mayor and his team are spearheading the drive to cut our transport emissions right in the heart of the nation’s capital, with not only the vehicles, but the infrastructure too.

“Even more Londoners will be using cleaner transport to commute to work, get to school and go out in their spare time.”

The refuelling station at Stratford has been supplied by the Air Products company. “This is an exciting step forward in the development of a low-carbon transport infrastructure using hydrogen at its core,” said Ian Williamson, director of hydrogen energy systems at Air Products and president of the European Hydrogen Association.