KPIT joins hands with OEMs for hydrogen generation

KPIT Technologies, a leading global automotive solutions provider, has tied up with a clutch of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the auto sector to produce hydrogen from biomass such as wheat and rice straw.

The hydrogen through biomass can be produced through microbial action on wheat and rice straw and also by burning wood.

Unlike batteries that occupy lot of space and affect the payload of transporters, hydrogen as a fuel from biomass can address two important issues the industry is facing — high cost of batteries, and space for batteries on vehicles.

Ravi Pandit, chairman of KPIT Technologies, told FE, “The price of hydrogen produced from biomass is lot more economical at around $3 per kg compared with $5 per kg for green hydrogen. Also, the fuel cell doesn’t occupy as much space as EV batteries that affect the pay load of transporters.” The company has two plants running on the bio waste, he said.

The technology provider believes India generates around 200 million tonne of bio waste, excluding earth waste and has the potential to meet its clean fuel requirement. “As hydrogen can be produced from anywhere across the country there can be distributed generation and consumption centres. It is my belief it can be the cheapest form of fuel in coming future,” Pandit said.

Hydrogen can meet the entire intercity travel requirement of 4.5 million tonne of fuel by 2030, provided hydrogen adoption happens aggressively. The usage of abundant waste cannot just address the issues related to pollution, import substitution of fuel and create a source of income for farmers on a long-term basis, Pandit said.

On April 3, Sentient Labs, an innovation hub incubated by KPIT Technologies in association with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and National Chemical Laboratory, showcased a bus that runs on hydrogen fuel cells.

“We believe that the bus design which we demonstrated is highly efficient and can make the hydrogen economy possible in India,” Pandit said.