Tata Motors Delivers Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Buses To Indian Oil
Tata Motors' commercial vehicle business has delivered Hydrogen Fuel Cell powered (FCEV) buses to Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) today.
In June 2021, Tata Motors won a tender from IOCL to provide 15 FCEV buses to evaluate the potential of hydrogen-based PEM fuel-cell technology in India. These buses are to be assessed as potential mass transport solution for inter and intra-city commutes.
Built at a dedicated lab in Tata Motors’ R&D centre at Pune, these 12-metre long buses are designed for easy ingress and egress with a low-floor design, can seat 35 passengers and were delivered after strenuous road tests and validations.
Speaking about the successful deployment of first-of-its-kind FCEV bus, Girish Wagh, Executive Director of Tata Motors, said, “The delivery of these buses today heralds a new era in inter-city mass public transport and marks another step forward towards fulfilling the aspiration of sustainable mobility. With proactive actions to develop and adapt new age technologies, we are creating future-ready transport solutions for both cargo and people to address the mobility needs of tomorrow’s India, today.”
Expertise and experiences was acquired by Tata Motors from a collaborative approach with renowned industry partners and research institutions, for adapting the advanced hydrogen-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology to Indian conditions, and has played a key role in developing the buses.
Speaking about the technology and innovations incorporated in these new-age FCEV buses, Rajendra Petkar, President & Chief Technology Officer at Tata Motors, said “This bus features 350-bar hydrogen storage system, 70 Kw fuel cell stack, electronic braking system & stability control for higher safety, intelligent transport system, new-generation telematics for efficient, user-friendly vehicle maintenance and tracking along with roomy interiors. This development is a testimony to Tata Motors’ continued commitment and leadership towards carbon neutrality. As a part of the MoU, Tata Motors and IOCL will continue to make further advances in the core technology related to PEM fuel cells in the times to come.”
The two buses were flagged-off by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs, Rameswar Teli, Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Labour & Employment, Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, S M Vaidya, Chairman, IOCL, Umish Srivastva, Executive Director, IOCL, and Rajendra Petkar, President & Chief Technology Officer, Tata Motors.
