Hydrogen fuel cell technology needs to be scaled in terms of tech maturity, investment: Tata Motors CTO

Rajendra Petkar, President & CTO, Tata Motors, says the hydrogen fuel cell technology needs to now further get into the scale mode in terms of technology maturity, in terms of the investment which the OEMs need to make, the investment which the vendor ecosystem needs to make, and also from the hydrogen infrastructure point of view. We also need lots of investments in the generation and distribution of hydrogen.

Tata Motors has delivered hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses to Indian Oil. Can you explain about it?
This is the bus which is fitted with the hydrogen fuel cell technology. In the hydrogen fuel cell, you use the hydrogen as a source of the energy and that is the input energy. Combine that with the oxygen and both put together you generate electricity. Store the electricity in the battery which is on the board and then use that electric energy to propel the wheels. This is a zero emission technology vehicle.

Beside the fuel cell technology per se, there is a lot of other technology in terms of the hydrogen storage in terms of a safety system, telematics unit and overall intelligent transport system which is fitted on the bus. There’s lots of focus as far as the vehicle operation, the interior, the roominess and the passenger comfort is concerned. This is a next generation bus which is definitely a zero emission but also comes with lots of other technical features which are packaged to deliver the superior consumer experience.

But the cost is something which will decide the future of such kinds of buses. Give us some details about the cost involved as compared to diesel fuel buses?
The diesel fuel buses have been there for more than 100 years in the market and therefore the diesel technology has got perfected in terms of the scale, in terms of technology maturation, and in terms of the availability of diesel as a fuel. When it comes to the hydrogen fuel cell, these are the very first two buses which have been flagged off.

The technology needs to now further get into the scale mode in terms of technology maturity, in terms of the investment which the OEMs need to make, the investment which the vendor ecosystem needs to make, and also from the hydrogen infrastructure point of view. We also need lots of investments in the generation and distribution of hydrogen.