Large commercial vehicles, in a bid to move towards cleaner mobility, are exploring hydrogen power. On this note, BharatBenz, owned by Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, has showcased India’s first intercity coach concept powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology, developed by Reliance.
The concept was showcased at the 4th Energy Transitions Working Group meeting under India’s G20 Presidency at Goa. Still in its concept form, the hydrogen-powered bus will undergo extensive testing for the next 12 months and the bus will develop around 300bhp, making it suitable for intercity applications.
What is interesting about the hydrogen-powered BharatBenz bus is that DICV was certain that it does not have any alternate fuel vehicles in its plan.
Reliance showcased its hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine earlier this year, designed for heavy commercial vehicles. The engine is capable of 400km range with one fill, making it ideal for long-distance travel.
DICV is not the only company testing hydrogen-powered vehicles, as Ashok Leyland is also testing similar technology and unveiled a Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2-ICE) truck earlier this year, The engine was developed by Reliance and is based on a diesel-powered internal combustion engine.
On the other hand, Tata has already got a road-worthiness nod for hydrogen-powered buses from the road transport and highways ministry, which use a hydrogen-based proton exchange membrane (PEM), developed by the Indian Oil Corporation. IOCL has also signed an MoU with Tata for two buses for demonstration purposes.