India’s First Hydrogen-Powered Fuel Cell Bus Developed by ISRO and Tata Motors

Tata Motors Limited (TML) and Indian Space Research Organisation, in collaboration, developed the first Hydrogen-powered automobile bus of India, after various years of research. The first hydrogen fuel-fitted bus of India was put on demonstration at the ISRO facility- Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu on 28 July 2013.

Primary features of the Hydrogen-powered automobile bus

• The Hydrogen-powered automobile bus is the CNG kind of a bus.
• Atop the bus, the Hydrogen in bottles at high pressure is stored, which would lead to zero pollution.
• These hydrogen bottles or cells were a by-product of the cryogenic technology and ISRO had been working on the development of this since past few years.
• The technology used in Hydrogen-powered automobile bus is not exactly like the cryogenic technology. It is actually the liquid hydrogen handling, where ISRO has expertise.
• The bus would lead to zero pollution because the product of cold combustion would be just water.

Since past 30 years, ISRO has had rich technology in production, storage as well as handling of the gaseous and liquid hydrogen. The team at ISRO generated technical specifications for various elements as well as general specifications of this bus.

It is important to note that ISRO and TML had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the year 2006 in order to design as well as develop the automobile bus which uses hydrogen as the fuel through the fuel cell route.

The entire project is a team work of Tata Motors and ISRO specialists along with the contribution from PESO (Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation) and DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research).