Hydrogen Fuel

WHY IN NEWS?

The Central PSU National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd, India’s under Ministry of Power has invited Global Expression of Interest (EoI) to provide 10 Hydrogen Fuel Cell (FC) based electric buses and an equal number of Hydrogen Fuel Cell based electric cars in Leh and Delhi.

HYDROGEN FUEL

• Hydrogen is a clean fuel that when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water.
• It can be produced through several methods, common methods being natural gas reforming (a high-temperature process in which steam reacts with a hydrocarbon fuel to produce hydrogen), and electrolysis. Other methods include solar-driven and biological processes.
• If the hydrogen comes from the electrolysis of water driven by renewable energy, then using fuel cells eliminates greenhouse gases over the whole cycle.
• Since hydrogen can be produced anywhere where there is water and a source of power, generation of fuel can be distributed and does not have to be grid-dependent.
• Hydrogen fuel cells are cleaner and more efficient than traditional combustion-based engines and power plants.
• However, it is highly flammable and is difficult to store.