India's power company plans to deploy hydrogen vehicles at high altitudes

Indian power company NTPC has announced plans to build a hydrogen fuel station and solar power plant in Leh and deploy associated hydrogen fuel cell buses. This marks the first deployment of hydrogen-powered buses on public roads in India and demonstrates the country's efforts and ambitions in the green energy sector.

As part of a three-month field trial process, the first hydrogen-powered bus in an Indian city went into operation on August 17.

Notably, the fuel cell bus is designed to withstand sub-zero temperatures in the thin atmosphere, especially at high altitudes of 11,562 feet above sea level. This unique feature makes the project more adaptable and feasible, offering new options for public transport at high altitudes.

NTPC said it is committed to achieving 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032 and becoming a major player in green hydrogen technology and energy storage. To achieve this, the company has adopted a number of incentives to achieve decarbonisation, such as projects such as hydrogen mixing, carbon capture, electric vehicle buses and smart NTPC towns.

In addition, in order to advance the deployment of electrolyzers in industrial and commercial applications, NTPC selected Ohmium International as a Proton exchange membrane (PEM) partner in June 2023, which will help to increase the level of commercialization of hydrogen technology and provide more opportunities for related industries.