India’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus developed by Tata Motors and ISRO
Tata Motors in collaboration with the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) joined hands to develop the country’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus. This hydrogen powered bus was demonstrated at ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Center (LPSC) in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu last-Sunday.
It’s a CNG-type bus, the The bus demonstrated at LPSC was seen with high pressure Hydrogen in bottles stored at the top of the bus which contributes to its zero pollution. The liquid hydrogen powers the fuel cells to generate electricity, that in turn drives the electric motor. At the moment, we don’t have an exact idea of the specifications as the company has not made an official commencement on that yet.
ISRO has been developing Cryogenic Technology at its Bangalore based headquarter over the past few years and this hydrogen cell technology is what has come about as part of this development. SRO has a very rich technology in producing, storing and handling gaseous and liquid hydrogen in the last three decades. Also its is an expertise in safety.
This development is also part of the Union Government guidelines for auto companies for expansion of hydrogen fuel in vehicles by the year 2015. The joint development by ISRO and Tata Motors is part of a MoU which the two parties entered into in 2006 for the design and development of a bus using hydrogen fuel cells. At last year’s Indian Auto Expo, Tata Motors showcased a hydrogen fuel cell powered Starbus concept.
Gnana Gandhi, honorary Adviser of ISRO, who led the technical team for the project said –
This is a leap for automobile industry for future transportation. In this vehicle there will be zero pollution since the product of cold combustion is water. This is a result of great team work of Tata Motors and ISRO specialists with contributions from DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) and PESO (Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation).
Also see – Ratan Tata’s dream: car that run on H2O
