New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) unveiled India’s first green hydrogen-powered bus as an initiative to replace fossil fuels. These buses will just emit water. The oil firm will split water to produce approximately 75 kg of hydrogen, using renewable sources. The hydrogen produced will power two buses that will be used for trial runs across New Delhi.
Indian Oil’s R&D Centre in Faridabad has initiated the production of green hydrogen for a pilot run aimed at powering buses. The four cylinders, each with a capacity of 30 kg, can run the buses for a distance of 350 km. The filling of these tanks takes approximately 10-12 minutes.
One of the key advantages of using hydrogen as a fuel is that it only emits water vapour when burned, making it a cleaner and more efficient energy option due to its three times higher energy density and lack of harmful emissions.
To produce one kilogram of green hydrogen, 50 units of renewable electricity and 9 kg of deionised water are required. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel for fuel cells, further expanding its potential applications.
Indian Oil plans to increase the number of buses in this green hydrogen-powered fleet to 15 by the end of 2023. These buses will undergo operational trials on designated routes in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. The first two fuel cell buses were launched as part of this program on Monday.
Speaking on this initiative, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated, “Our government has ambitious plans for clean and green energy. India is actively pursuing low-carbon development through emerging fuels like hydrogen and biofuels, and is expected to contribute 25 percent of global incremental energy demand growth over the next two decades.”
With the launch of these two buses, a combined mileage of more than 3 lakh kilometres will be covered to assess the long-term performance and durability of this new technology.
Hydrogen is expected to help India attain its decarbonisation targets, and is considered the fuel for the future. Demand within India is expected to increase four times to 25-28 tonne by 2050 from the current 6 tonne.
An estimated 1 million per annum of green hydrogen will be produced by oil and gas PSUs by 2030.
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