First green hydrogen fuel cell powered bus inaugurated from Kartavya Path

On September 25, 2023, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri flagged off the country's first green hydrogen fuel cell bus on the 'Kartavya Path' in Delhi.

Hydrogen is considered the fuel of the future, which has immense potential to help India meet its decarbonization targets.

• Global demand for hydrogen is expected to increase four to seven times to 500-800 million tonnes by 2050.
• The government is planning to run 15 more fuel cell buses in the Delhi NCR region. Efforts are being made across the country to reduce pollution. In such a situation, the arrival of hydrogen buses can provide great relief.

Started experimentally:

• Only two buses were started on trial basis on 25 September 2023. These hydrogen buses will cover a distance of 3 lakh kilometres. This means that these buses running on hydrogen will be able to travel more than 300 kilometers at a time.
• Pollution due to petrol and diesel vehicles is continuously increasing. In an initiative to stop this, the first buses running on hydrogen have been introduced in the country.
• Meanwhile, emphasis is also being laid on electric vehicles, vehicles running on ethanol and other alternative energy.

Will be helpful in reducing pollution:

• Green hydrogen is produced from renewable energy sources. There is less pollution in its preparation and use, hence it is also known as low-carbon fuel.
• India will become a country demanding 25 percent of the world's energy in the next two decades.
• After the use of alternative energy, India will be at the forefront in the export of green hydrogen in the coming time.

Hydrogen Bus: 

• According to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, projects related to Hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines, localization of electrolyzer based technologies, promotion of bio-pathways for green hydrogen production are being taken forward expeditiously.
• The fuel cell uses hydrogen and air to power the bus.
• The only waste produced from hydrogen buses is water. For this reason, it is much more environmentally friendly than traditional friendly buses that run on petrol and diesel.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell (HFC):

• HFC is an electrochemical device that converts hydrogen into electrical energy.
• Fuel cells function much like other conventional batteries found in electric vehicles, but they do not discharge and do not require recharging with electricity.
• As long as hydrogen is available, they continue to produce electricity.

Benefits of HFC powered vehicles:

• HFCs do not produce any tailpipe emissions (emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants). HFCs emit only water vapor and hot air.
• HFCs are better than internal combustion engine vehicles.
• Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) have an advantage over battery-powered electric vehicles in terms of refueling time.

Green Hydrogen:

• Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolyzers powered by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
• This fuel is considered critical to India's energy security, as India is dependent on imports for 85% of its total mineral oil and 53% of its gas requirements.

National Green Hydrogen Mission:

• The Government of India has set a target of achieving carbon-net-zero by the year 2070 and making itself independent in terms of energy by the year 2047, in which green hydrogen has an important role.
• Keeping in mind the increasing clean energy needs globally, the Indian Prime Minister had announced the preparation of the National Hydrogen Mission on 15 August 2021.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the National Hydrogen Mission on 4 January 2023.
• It aims to achieve a generation capacity of at least 5 million metric tonnes per annum, with renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country by the year 2030.
• Green hydrogen is a clean energy source produced through the electrolysis of water using renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydropower.