HT Correspondent
JORHAT, Aug 10: The trial run of the country’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered e-bus, a project initiated by Oil India Limited (OIL) under the SNEH (Start-up Nurturing, Enabling & Handholding) scheme, has commenced. The trial run is taking place at the Number 3 Pumping Station of OIL in Charigaon, Jorhat.
The project is being carried out in collaboration with the start-up Ohm Clean Tech Private Limited based in Pune. The agreement between the two parties was signed last year for the design, integration, and development of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered e-bus.
Speaking to reporters after a demonstration of the e-bus, Bhairab Bhuyan, the ED of OIL’s Engineering Services and the company’s spokesperson, stated that this initiative marks the first hydrogen fuel-powered vehicle in the e-bus category in India.
The Union ministry of Road Transport and Highways has granted permission for a one-year trial run. During this period, the e-bus will initially operate on short-distance routes and gradually transition to long-distance routes, such as from Jorhat to Kaziranga and Jorhat to Duliajan.
The e-bus will be fueled by hydrogen supplied from the country’s first 99.999 percent pure Green Hydrogen fuel plant, which was commissioned at OIL’s pumping station in April 2022.
The hydrogen fuel cell-powered e-bus is equipped with a fuel tank consisting of three cylinders on its rear top, with a storage capacity of 21 kgs of compressed fuel at 350 bar pressure. The vehicle is expected to travel up to 400 km on a fully filled tank under perfect road conditions.
Bhairab Bhuyan mentioned that the mileage of the e-bus is around 10 km per one KW, and the fuel is filled through a dispenser. An imported hydrogen-powered cell charges the vehicle’s battery to enable it to run on electricity.
