IOC unveils first green hydrogen-run bus

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri flagged off India’s first green hydrogen-powered bus that emits just water. The minister said hydrogen will be India’s transition fuel for moving away from fossil fuels.

India’s top oil firm IOC unveiled the bus. IOC will produce close to 75 kg of hydrogen by splitting water using electricity from renewable sources. This hydrogen will be used to power two buses which will ply across the national capital region for trial runs.

IOC’s R&D Centre at Faridabad is producing green hydrogen for the pilot run. Four cylinders with a capacity of 30 kg can run the buses for 350 km. It takes 10-12 minutes for the four tanks to fill.

Hydrogen when burnt emits only water vapour as a by-product. With three times the energy density and the absence of harmful emissions, hydrogen shines as a cleaner, more efficient choice to meet the energy requirement. As much as 50 units of renewable electricity and 9 kg of deionized water are needed for the production of one kilo of green hydrogen. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel for fuel cells.