In a major technological breakthrough, India has launched its first indigenously developed hydrogen fuel cell bus to strengthen the country’s fight against climate change.
The hydrogen fuel bus developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and private company KPIT Ltd, was unveiled by Union Minister Jitendra Singh at Pune on Sunday.
Singh explained that the fuel cell utilizes hydrogen and air to generate electricity to power the bus and the only effluent from the bus is water, therefore making it possibly the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
In comparison, a single diesel bus plying on long distance routes typically emits 100 tons of CO2 annually and there are over a million such buses in India. On the other hand, Fuel Cell vehicles give zero green-house gas emissions, he added
The minister also said that the high efficiency of fuel cell vehicles and the high energy density of hydrogen ensures that the operational costs in rupees per kilometre for fuel cell trucks and buses are lower than diesel powered vehicles and this can bring freight revolution in India.
Singh pointed out that about 12-14% CO2 emissions and particulate emissions come from diesel powered heavy commercial vehicles and these are decentralised emissions and hence difficult to capture. Hydrogen fuelled vehicles provide an excellent means to eliminate the on-road emissions, he added.
The minister concluded that by achieving these goals, India can pole-vault from being net importer of fossil energy to becoming a large green hydrogen producer and exporter of equipment for green hydrogen.
