Under the move, the two firms will add 20 hydrogen fuel stations to the network in German cities to help promote the technology.

The initiative links in with the existing H2 Mobility and Clean Energy Partnership infrastructure projects, which are being subsidised by the National Innovation Programme for hydrogen and fuel-cell technology (NIP). At present, there are nearly 30 hydrogen refuelling points in Germany at the current time, seven of which are located at public filling stations.

Daimler said that the project will see the investment of tens of millions in new stations in Stuttgart, Berlin and Hamburg over the next three years.

Dr Wolfgang Reitzle, CEO of Linde AG, added: 'Together with the fuel cell, hydrogen is set to be of fundamental importance to the expansion of electromobility. We are delighted to be able to play such an instrumental role in shaping this development together with Daimler. We see ourselves as providing an impetus for existing initiatives, such as H2 Mobility and the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), and wish to support the commercialisation of hydrogen vehicles as best we can.

'By systematically developing hydrogen technology, Germany can assume a pioneering role in this field and establish itself as the industry leader as we move towards emission-free mobility.'