Tata Motors has delivered two hydrogen fuel cell-powered (FCEV) buses to Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL). The 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 and Employment, Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, S M Vaidya, Chairman, IOCL, Dr Umish Srivastva, Executive Director, IOCL, and Rajendra Petkar, President & Chief Technology Officer, Tata Motors, along with delegates from Government of India, Government of New Delhi and Tata Motors.
In June 2021, Tata Motors had 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 will be assessed as potential mass transport solutions for inter and intra-city commutes.
Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors, said this is an outcome of the government's progressive policies, IOCL’s focus on future-readiness and Tata Motors’ R&D prowess, all collaborating to fulfil the common vision of clean mobility in India. The delivery of the FCEV buses to IOCL marks a significant step forward in this journey.
Built at a dedicated lab in Tata Motors’ R&D centre in Pune, these 12-metre-long buses are designed for easy ingress and egress with a low-floor design and can seat 35 passengers.
A press release from Tata Motors said that the company acquired expertise and experiences from a collaborative approach with 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.
Petkar said that the bus features a 350-bar hydrogen storage system, 70 Kw fuel cell stack, electronic braking system and stability control for higher safety, intelligent transport system, new-generation telematics for efficient, user-friendly vehicle maintenance and tracking along with roomy interiors.
“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,” he added.
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