Indian Oil Corp to buy 15 PEM fuel cell buses

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country largest refiner and fuel retailer, plans to procure 15 Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell buses. The plan will assess all aspects of hydrogen-based transportation as an ultimate green alternative. The project receives partial funding from the Hydrogen Corpus Fund, an entity set up by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. 

IOC Chairman S M Vaidya said the company has been pioneering the hydrogen efforts in India. This initiative is a part of a more significant project that aims to address all aspects of the hydrogen value chain.

Fuel cell buses will be tested in cooperation with the selected OEM in large scale field trials in Delhi-NCR.

One of the project’s important parts is to indigenously build the fuel cell stack/system technology under AatmaNirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) policy, promoting the local hydrogen power industry.

IOC is also building trial units for various pathways to generate hydrogen of a nearly one tonne per day production capacity at its Faridabad R&D Centre, Haryana, India. The hydrogen will then be supplied to refuelling theses buses.