Bharat will be a global champion in production and exports of
hydrogen and is set to emerge as the hub for green hydrogen, asserted Union
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri as he flagged off the
nation’s first green hydrogen fuel cell bus in Delhi.
The global demand for hydrogen is likely to increase by four to
seven times to 500-800 MT by 2050, while domestic demand is expected to
increase by four times, from present 6MT to 25-28 MT by 2050, he added.
“The success of this project can catapult Bharat from being a net
importer of fossil energy to becoming a net exporter of clean hydrogen energy;
provide global leadership to other countries in terms of technology transfer,
while becoming a large green hydrogen producer and supplier of manufacturing
parts,” said the minister.
The hydrogen fuel-powered vehicle will save time as these can be
refilled in a few minutes, nearly as fast as fossil fuel can fill an internal
combustion engine and currently at least 15 green hydrogen buses will be
operational by the end of 2023.
The project for green hydrogen fuel cell bus has been undertaken by
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) jointly with Tata Motors.
Indian Oil’s scientifically designed program will undertake
operational trials of 15 fuel cell buses powered by green hydrogen on the
identified routes in Delhi, Haryana and UP.
Apart from this, Indian Oil has set up a state-of-the-art
dispensing facility at R&D Faridabad campus that can refuel green hydrogen
produced from electrolysis using solar PV panels.
Puri said the Petroleum Ministry has taken pioneering steps in the
sphere of green hydrogen and is accelerating its efforts to produce and utilize
green hydrogen in the refineries.
“Further, projects pertaining to hydrogen blending in natural gas
pipelines, localization of electrolyzer based technologies, promotion of
bio-pathways for green hydrogen production are being pursued aggressively,” he
added.
NE Watch Desk
