Oil India launches hydrogen powered bus

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on February 6 flagged off state-owned Oil India’s (OIL) indigenously developed hydrogen fuel cell bus at the India Energy Week in Bengaluru, India’s petroleum and natural gas ministry said on the same day.

The bus has been developed under the Indian government’s National Hydrogen Mission and Atmanirbhar Bharat vision, the ministry said. The bus is a hybrid of an electric drive and a fuel cell.

The fuel cell uses hydrogen to produce electricity which drives the electric motor and also charges the auxiliary battery that provides backup power during acceleration and braking. The 60 KW capacity fuel cell uses proton exchange membrane technology to produce electricity. Bus has a tank capacity of 21.9 kg at 350 bar pressure.

The bus is designed to accommodate 32 persons including the driver and is provided with a wheelchair facility.