As it is evident from the market trend, the car and automobile manufacturers have moved from using conventional fuel (petrol/diesel) to hydrogen fuel cell. But the journey to this change in technology has been quite challenging so far. Initially, Petrol/Diesel were used, then came the CNG(which is yet to be adopted fully), after this, the world started to invest in EV (Which used batteries to store electricity) & lastly now it is the Hydrogen Fuel Cell (Producing own Electricity).
Hydrogen Fuel Cell : The basic chemical reaction that goes on inside a Hydrogen Fuel Cell is: 2H2 + O2 -> 2H2O. As it is evident here, the only by product that is formed is water, hence the craze.
Benefits of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology
(a) Overcoming the shortage of Conventional Fuel. With the limited stock of oil fields depleting and ever increasing rise in the level of pollution, use of hydrogen to power the automobiles is on rise. Hydrogen is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere and is readily available for use.
(b) Non-Polluting. As is shown above, the only byproduct that is produced is water and electricity.
(c) No Noise. As compared to conventional ICE, the Hydrogen powered cars do not produce sound of the engine as there are very limited moving parts.
(d) Better than EV. It is said in the context that while the EV needs to be charged and uses a battery pack to power the vehicle, HFCEV on the other hand uses less of charging the battery pack that will be used for the basic functioning of the Fuel Cell. In case of EV, the electricity required for charging is usually from non-renewable source of energy, hence it is but obvious that harm to the nature and pollution is still happening at some other end. It is not same in case of HFCEV as it used Hydrogen in fuel cell and Oxygen from the atmosphere to produce the required amount of electricity to power the vehicle.
(e) Limited Wear and Tear of parts. As there are very fewer moving parts, the wear and tear are also less. This leads to low cost of the moving parts and their maintenance.
Drawbacks Hindering the Adoption
(a) Costlier than Fossil Fuel. Though Hydrogenas a gas is abundantly available in the atmosphere but the technology related to the storage and transfer of hydrogen is costlier. It is sure to take time for the technology to be developed to the stage that is will be easier in bulk production.
(b) High Cost of Parts. The elements used in the formation of the catalyst in the Hydrogen Fuel Cell is very Expensive and hence the high cost of the Fuel Cell.
(c) High Cost of Storage and Transportation. To understand this, we need to understand the basic properties of hydrogen. It is highly combustible and highly volatile and for it to be stored in stable form it is freezed to -273 Degrees Celsius. Special Cryogenic containers are required for that. And hence the higher cost.
(d) Lack of government Policies. As the field of RE is new and upcoming, there are limited policies of govt pertaining to the EV. And more so in the case of HFCEV.
(e) Overall Increased Cost. For Hydrogen being produced from RE source the cost is somewhere between Rs 300- Rs 400 (Per Kg). But if produced from Fossil Fuels it will cost only Rs 150(Per Kg).
(f) Efficiency Loss in the case of Electricity. The overall efficiency of the Fuel Cell is lost as electricity is used to produce Hydrogen and further to compress it and later it is again converted back to electricity. Some experts say the approx loss is up to 50%-60% in terms of efficiency.
Government of India Initiatives
(a) National Hydrogen Mission. It was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on the occasion of Independence Day 2021. It was launched with an aim to give India a considerable jump to achieve its targets of renewable energy by the use of Green Hydrogen. And thereby progressing towards the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The aim of the mission is to reduce the overall carbon emissions and to haul up the use of renewable energy resources in collaboration with global best practices in terms of policy, regulatory methods and technology.
(b) Budget Allotment. As part of NHM, Government of India has allotted Rs 25 Crores during the Union Budget of 2021-22. The Fund was dedicated for the R&D in the field of Hydrogen Energy. By 2050, the aim would be to produce 3/4th of Hydrogen from renewable resources.
(c) Mission Innovation Challenge. With the aim of green Hydrogen and the objective of accelerating the development of global Hydrogen Market, India is up & Forward with Mission Innovation Challenge. It encompasses to identify and rule out the hinderances in the field of technology pertaining to production, storage, distribution and use of Hydrogen at larger scale.
(d) International Collaboration. Presently the Gulf and Central Coastal Countries are the largest producers and consumers of Grey Hydrogen. Naturally the Gulf Countries and India are Energy Partners in the field of clean fuels (Hydrogen). Resultantly a line of MoUs have been signed between both. The collaborations significant enough to take a note are:-
(i) India – Bahrain. Foreign Minister of Bahrain Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Ziyani was invited to the Hydrogen Roundtable during his visit to New Delhi in April 2021. The aim was to develop Hydrogen Collaboration with Bahrain.
(ii) India – Saudi Arabia. An agreement was signed between both the countries pertaining to the cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy to include Green Hydrogen. The agreement aims to explore the Green Hydrogen as the future source of energy.Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman brought out that their country is all set to harness the potential of Green and Clean Hydrogen.
(iii) Open for Collaboration with GCC.PM Modi during the year 2018 had invited the businessmen of GCC to invest in India’s Energy Sector. In addition, the then Petroleum Minister Mr Dharmendra Pradhan reiterated that India is committed to collaboration with partners int the field of Hydrogen Economy.
Hydrogen Economy
What is Hydrogen Economy?
(i) It is an envisioned future to use Hydrogen as Fuel and means to store energy. It includes the long distance transport of Energy.
(ii) The aim is to discontinue the use of all fossil fuels and reduce the Global Warming.
(iii) Maximum use of Renewable Sources of Energy to produce Energy.
(iv) To improve the status of India from a major importer of Oil to the Major Exporter of Hydrogen and allied technology.
Worldwide Effort– Development of Hydrogen as a fuel is growing:-
(i) Hydrogen Fuel Cars and Vehicles. A lot of countries like USA, UK, Canada & South Korea are developing vehicles with this capacity.
(ii) France. With 7Billion Euros allotted, the French govt plans to use Hydrogen Tech in Industry and Transportation sector.
(iii) Air Transport. Famous company – Airbus plans to use Hydrogen Energy to build aircrafts with zero emission.
(iv) Japan. To catch the limelight and to divert the attention of the world from the controversy of conducting Olympics amid the pandemic, Japan had announced to use Hydrogen Fuelled vehicle in the conduct of the Olympics.
India as a Key Player– With the National Hydrogen Energy Mission in the pipeline, various Indian efforts to imbibe the Hydrogen are:-
(i) HCNG. Hydrogen enriched CNG. Last year 2020, Delhi wasthe first state to announce the use of buses capable of running on Hydrogen enriched CNG as a fuel.
(ii) MNRE & NTPC. These forerunners are planning to run Hydrogen Fuel Cell based buses. A budget for the same has also been allocated and trial run is to be held in Leh.
(iii) Plan to boost India’s Green Energy. Amid and apart from the various initiatives mentioned earlier the Government of India is planning the allocate more budget to boost the generation of Green Hydrogen in India.
(iv) NITI Aayog. A committee under the chairmanship of Mr Rajiv Kumar is likely to be set up under NITI Aayog to fast-track the use of Hydrogen as a fuel.
(v) India H2 Alliance. With an aim to commercialise the use of Hydrogen, the alliance has been set up by Global giants in Energy and Industry. Forerunners in this field are the Reliance Industries and the Chart Industries. We are likely to see major shift in the technology and the policies of the government. At present the technology pertaining to the Hydrogen are in R&D stage only.
(vi) New Delhi Dialogue on Hydrogen Energy. It was held on 14 April 2021. The key players that participated were The Energy Forum (TEF) & Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI). It was a virtual meet and the agenda point were – Hydrogen Ecosystem and exploding opportunities for Collaboration, Cooperation and Coalition.
Conclusion: With the growing concerns for the climate amid the reducing level of Fossil Fuels and Global Warming, the use of Hydrogen as a Fuel is sure to be the future of all economies. It will be a major change in the world. The time now calls for growing the awareness among the scholars and to increase the R&D in the field of Hydrogen. The requirement is for all the Global Superpowers to join hand and work together in the allied fields of Capacity Building, Technology Development and Policy Making.