New Delhi: Marking a significant leap towards sustainable transportation, Union minister of petroleum & natural gas and housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, is set to inaugurate India’s first Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus at Kartavya Path, Delhi, on September 25, 2023.
This comes in the backdrop of the potential of Green Hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, which offers an opportunity for India to pave a path to low-carbon and self-reliant economic development. It can harness the abundant domestic renewable energy resources and serve diverse purposes, ranging from fuel applications to critical industrial processes such as petroleum refining, steel production, and fertilizer manufacturing.
Fuel cell technology, which uses hydrogen as fuel, is increasingly being viewed as a vital component of e-mobility solutions. In this process, hydrogen and oxygen undergo an electrochemical reaction, producing water and releasing electrical energy. Fuel cells stand out for their high efficiency, longer range, and faster refuelling time when juxtaposed against battery-driven vehicles.
Underlining this transformative move, IndianOil has spearheaded a program to test 15 Fuel Cell buses fueled by Green hydrogen across designated routes in Delhi, Haryana, and U.P. As a kickstart to this initiative, the first two buses will commence their journey from India Gate on Monday.
This pioneering effort represents India’s maiden attempt at utilizing green hydrogen dispensed at a pressure of 350 bar for fuel cell bus operations. IndianOil has complemented this effort by setting up a cutting-edge refuelling facility at their R&D Faridabad campus, equipped to refuel green hydrogen sourced from electrolysis powered by solar PV panels.
Post the bus launch, an extensive road test covering over 3 lakh kilometres will be conducted across all the buses to assess the long-term viability and resilience of this innovative technology. The insights derived from this exhaustive trial will serve as a valuable reservoir of information, poised to inform and shape India’s green hydrogen-based zero-emission mobility future.
