ISRO scientists develop hydrogen fuel cells to power bus

India's space scientists have developed hydrogen fuel cells to power an automobile bus by leveraging their know-how of the homegrown cryogenic technology for rockets.

The two-year effort has yielded positive results and the scientists are now readying for the fuel cells to be fitted into a bus.

"That's not exactly the cryogenic technology... (It's) liquid hydrogen handling and that's where we have some expertise. So, we have finalised the design", Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, G Madhavan Nair said.

According to Honorary Adviser of ISRO, V Gnana Gandhi, leading the technical team in this project, ISRO and Tata Motors entered into an MoU in 2006 to design and develop an automobile bus using hydrogen as a fuel through fuel cell route.


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Nair said, "Tatas are taking the responsibility for the locomotive part of it, and hydrogen handling system also. First protomodel has been assembled. Results are good. May be next year, it should be on the road".

Gandhi said, "We are planning to integrate the system in the first quarter of next year (January-March 2009), and vehicle integration in the second quarter".

He said the hydrogen cells are a spin-off of the cryogenic technology that ISRO has been developing for the last few years.

This project would be undertaken on the basis of clean development mechanism, which would ensure environment preservation.

Himachal Pradesh was recently awarded Diamond State Award for its environment protection endeavours. The rail line would provide all weather transportation facility to the areas of Lahaul-Spiti, which remains cut-off for almost six months in a year besides strengthening the rail network in Leh area. Also it would strengthen the infrastructure development in the strategic border areas of the state.

The natural beauty of the state's border areas has always been a centre of attraction for the tourists and visitors but the area has remained inaccessible due to limited means of transportation.

With the coming up of this railway line the state would have an advantage of cheap, accessible and sustainable means of transport and visitors would have opportunity to undertake hassle-free journey to the area, he said.