The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has conducted the trial run of India’s first hydrogen-powered bus. The test was held at the Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in Tirunelveli district on Sunday. The test was carried out for 5 km in the presence of S Ramakrishnan, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, and senior officials of Tata Motors, which carried out the five-year research project.
The bus is operated using an electro-chemical engine that uses reverse electrolysis process, V Gnana Gandhi, a Padmashree awardee and the brain behind the project, said while explaining the use of liquid hydrogen to propel automobiles.
Hydrogen compressed to 150 bar atmosphere is stored in cylinders on the roof of the bus. The fuel reaching the engine is decompressed to 2 bar atmosphere and thereafter converted by the hydrogen fuel cells into direct current (DC). This power is then converted into alternate current (AC) to drive the electric engines. “This is basically an electric operation using hydrogen fuel. As the byproduct is water, there is absolutely no emission at all,” Gandhi said.
The next step would be testing the vehicle for 1,000 to 2,000 km cumulatively by running it for 100 to 200 km daily.
Tata Motors will carry out the formalities of making it roadworthy.
Virtually every major automobile company has come out with prototypes of hydrogen powered cars, but mass production is yet to happen. Honda developed a hydrogen-powered fuel cell car in 1999, and GM and Ford soon followed suit, launching their versions in 2000. India had allocated Rs.250 crore for a project to develop hydrogen powered vehicles and had plans to launch 1,000 such cars by 2010, but the venture has been going slow. Hydrogen is probably the least polluting fuel and its use brings down dependency of oil.
The bus is operated using an electro-chemical engine that uses reverse electrolysis process, V Gnana Gandhi, a Padmashree awardee and the brain behind the project, said while explaining the use of liquid hydrogen to propel automobiles.
Hydrogen compressed to 150 bar atmosphere is stored in cylinders on the roof of the bus. The fuel reaching the engine is decompressed to 2 bar atmosphere and thereafter converted by the hydrogen fuel cells into direct current (DC). This power is then converted into alternate current (AC) to drive the electric engines. “This is basically an electric operation using hydrogen fuel. As the byproduct is water, there is absolutely no emission at all,” Gandhi said.
The next step would be testing the vehicle for 1,000 to 2,000 km cumulatively by running it for 100 to 200 km daily.
Tata Motors will carry out the formalities of making it roadworthy.
Virtually every major automobile company has come out with prototypes of hydrogen powered cars, but mass production is yet to happen. Honda developed a hydrogen-powered fuel cell car in 1999, and GM and Ford soon followed suit, launching their versions in 2000. India had allocated Rs.250 crore for a project to develop hydrogen powered vehicles and had plans to launch 1,000 such cars by 2010, but the venture has been going slow. Hydrogen is probably the least polluting fuel and its use brings down dependency of oil.
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