Indian Oil unveils first hydrogen bus

New Delhi: India’s top oil firm IOC on Monday unveiled the nation’s first green hydrogen-powered bus that emits just water as it takes the lead in bringing out unrivaled tools to replace fossil fuels. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will produce close to 75 kg of hydrogen by splitting water using electricity from renewable sources. This hydrogen will be used to power two buses, which will ply across the national capital region for trial runs.

Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, flagging off the buses, said,“hydrogen will be India’s transition fuel for moving away from fossil fuels.” IOC’s R&D Centre at Faridabad is producing green hydrogen for the pilot run. Four cylinders with a capacity of 30 kg can run the buses for 350 km. It takes 10-12 minutes for the four tanks to fill. Hydrogen when burnt emits only water vapour as a by-product. With three times the energy density and the absence of harmful emissions, hydrogen shines as a cleaner, more efficient choice to meet the energy requirement.