On Wednesday, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari visited Parliament House on Hydrogen based Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) - Toyota Mirai, catalysing the government’s intent in using hydrogen as a fuel for many segments, including transportation.
Demonstrating the car powered by Green Hydrogen (GH), Gadkari emphasised the need to spread awareness about Hydrogen, FCEV technology and its benefits to support a hydrogen-based society for India.
The Minister assured that Green Hydrogen will be manufactured in India; Green Hydrogen refuelling stations will be established, generating sustainable employment opportunities in the country. He said India will soon become Green Hydrogen exporting country.
In line with the Prime Minister’s vision of clean and cutting-edge mobility in India, the government, through the ‘National Hydrogen Mission’, is committed to focusing on green and clean energy.
It may be recalled that on August 15, 2021, Prime Minister Modi announced a National Hydrogen Mission to make India a global hub for green hydrogen production and export, boost energy self-reliance and inspire Clean Energy Transition all over the world through Green Growth and Green Jobs.
Green hydrogen is the product of electrolysis of water—using electricity to split water into its constituent components of hydrogen and oxygen—using renewable energy.
Oil companies in the country have been running pilot projects to manufacture grey hydrogen since 2007 though the emphasis was on converting biomass and methane to hydrogen.
Why Green Hydrogen?
GH is not only clean but also efficient. Its energy density is higher by three folds of diesel and 3.5 folds of heavy fuel oil, used in marine applications. Likewise, one kg of hydrogen has approximately the same energy as one gallon of gasoline. Therefore, less fuel is needed because fuel cell vehicles are about twice as efficient as gasoline vehicles.
Efficiency apart, are there apprehensions about hydrogen as a fuel as the country witnessed four fire accidents involving electric two-wheelers? Dr S A Sherif - Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida and author of “Handbook of Hydrogen Energy,” at a webinar organised by the Centre for Auto Policy & Research (CAPR), along with Mobility Outlook, has said that the stigma attached to hydrogen as unsafe and bad publicity hamper its prospects. On the contrary, it is safe; besides, it will be cost-competitive considering the overall cost, on account of the damages created by the fossil fuel affecting lungs, triggering acid rains and such things. However, proper education on the facts is required. “I think we need to keep pushing. The future is looking good; in the end, economics is going to be the deciding factor. If we get one kilogram (clean hydrogen) for a USD, it is going to be the winner,” he added.
Therefore, the challenge for India is to produce GH at a competitive cost and work on distributing it to the dispensing stations across diverse locations of the country. At present, there are two hydrogen refuelling stations in the country at present - one each at the Indian Oil R&D Centre, Faridabad and the National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram.
Toyota Mirai
While the infrastructure requirements, though critical, take time to establish, from the applications point of view, there are already several vehicles running on hydrogen worldwide. Well, what is unique about Mirai?
Mirai generates power by combining hydrogen with oxygen from the outside air. Hydrogen from the fuel tank and air entering from the intake grille meet in the Fuel Cell Stack, and a chemical reaction involving the oxygen in the air and hydrogen generates electricity—powering Mirai.
The hydrogen is stored in its multi-patented, carbon-fibre-wrapped, polymer-lined fuel tanks, which can absorb five times the crash energy of steel. Mirai has three storage tanks for hydrogen with a cumulative capacity of 142.2 litres, holding about 5kgs of hydrogen that can be charged in about five minutes. In a high-speed collision, sensors are designed to stop hydrogen flow, and any leaked hydrogen will rapidly escape safely back into the atmosphere.
The Fuel Cell
The hydrogen combines with atmospheric oxygen within the fuel cell, and each cell has two catalysts - one for the anode and the other for the cathode. Polymer electrolytes separate these; due to the movement of electrons from anode to cathode, each fuel cell generates electricity, and Mirai has about 330 fuel cells in toto. The fuel stack directly supplies electricity to the motor, leaving nothing but water droplets through the tailpipe. With silicon carbide, the fuel cell power control unit enhances the power output, thereby increasing the mileage.
As the fuel-cell stack always works optimally, the excess electricity is stored in the lithium-ion battery - the energy from the fuel cell and the battery work in tandem to offer enhanced acceleration. Currently, the WLTP is 0.79kg per 100 km, which means that with a full tank of hydrogen, the vehicle can go up to 640 kms. Therefore, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are not only clean and truly zero-emission but also silent!