India's first indigenous Hydrogen fuel cell bus

Context

The Government recently unveiled India's first indigenously developed hydrogen fuel cell-powered bus in Pune. 

Key-points

• The hydrogen fuel cell bus is developed by KPIT-CSIR in Pune.
• It uses hydrogen and air to generate electricity, producing only heat and water in the process.
• Hydrogen fuel cells like the one present in the bus produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen atoms. 
• The two gases react across an electrochemical cell similar to a conventional battery cell to produce electricity, water and small amounts of heat. 
• This electricity is then used by electric motors to propel the vehicle forward.

What is a hydrogen fuel cell?

• According to the US Department of Energy, fuel cells work in a similar manner to conventional batteries found in electric vehicles but they do not run out of charge and don’t need to be recharged with electricity. 
• They continue to produce electricity as long as there is a supply of hydrogen. 
• Just like conventional cells, a fuel cell consists of an anode (negative electrode) and cathode (positive electrode) sandwiched around an electrolyte.
• Hydrogen is fed to the anode and air is fed to the cathode. 
• At the anode, a catalyst separates the hydrogen molecules into protons and electrons and both subatomic particles take different paths to the cathode. 
• The electrons go through an external circuit, creating a flow of electricity that can be used to power electric motors. 
• The protons, on the other hand, move to the cathode through the electrolyte. 
• Once there, they unite with oxygen and electrons to produce water and heat.

Advantages

• The primary advantage of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) is that they produce no tailpipe emissions. 
• They only emit water vapour and warm air. 
• They are more efficient than internal combustion engine vehicles.
• Another advantage when it comes to refuelling time, which makes them more practical than battery-powered electric vehicles for public transportation purposes. 
• Even with the fastest charging technologies, it could take hours to charge a battery-powered electric bus. 
• Meanwhile, hydrogen can be refilled in a fuel cell vehicle in a matter of minutes, nearly as fast as an internal combustion engine can be refilled with fossil fuels.