India’s first train powered by green hydrogen travelled across Haryana state on 17 July, marking the latest initiative in the country’s energy transition. India is now the sixth country to develop hydrogen trains and the first developing one.

The 10-coach demonstrator train that can carry 2600 passengers up to 89km was flagged off by prime minister Narendra Modi. As of 25 July, it has travelled over 1200km, saving more than 3200 litres of diesel, the government notes. It joins a limited number of hydrogen buses that are being tested in a few Indian cities, including Leh and Delhi, with 10 more routes planned

These initiatives aim to help meet the country’s target of producing at least 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen every year by 2030, under the 2023 National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM). The INR197 billion (£1.5 billion) mission is part of its commitment to achieve 60% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2070, under the Paris Agreement.

Unlike conventional diesel locomotives, hydrogen trains are powered by fuel cells. To reduce carbon emissions, green hydrogen can be used that is produced by using renewable power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen with an electrolyser. India’s new train features a 1200kW fuel cell that converts the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen from the air into electricity through a pair of redox reactions, with the only byproduct being water.

The electricity generated by the fuel cell can also be stored in lithium-ion batteries, which provide additional power during acceleration.

Green hydrogen technology is still developing but has considerable potential, according to Indian chemists. ‘The train project will help us understand which parts of the technology – from production to storage, transportation, refuelling and safety – are ready and which areas require greater research and development,’ says Ujjal Gautam at the department of chemical sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali. Green hydrogen can help India reduce emissions in sectors such as steel, fertilisers, petroleum refining, chemical manufacturing and heavy long-distance transport, sectors where direct electrification is often difficult, he adds.

India’s main advantage in green hydrogen is its renewable electricity is relatively cheap. The current cost of solar energy in India is $35 (£26) per MWh, compared with the global average of $44 and $62 in the US and $65 in Germany.

‘This is a very significant economic driving factor that will positively guide the adoption of green hydrogen,’ says Nagappan Ramaswamy in the department of chemical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. Research on green hydrogen in the country is at a ‘nascent stage but the level of interest and participation from various sectors has grown significantly’. It is just a matter of time until the 2030 targets are reached, he believes.

That said, current production levels are less than 1% of the target and the infrastructure is still not in place, Gautam points out. ‘Even reaching a substantial part of the target would be important progress,’ he says.

India has several R&D projects active in the NGHM. These include technologies to reduce the cost of hydrogen production, distribution and storage, diversify feedstocks and reduce emissions. Others include a green hydrogen and hydrocarbons consortium between IIT-Madras and industry, development of techniques to split water using sunlight by IIT Delhi and IIT Mandi, and new reformer designs for ultra-pure hydrogen production by IIT Varanasi.

India’s road to green hydrogen is, however, still bumpy. ‘We currently do not have the building blocks in place to reach such high volumes [as those outlined in the NGHM],’ says Ramaswamy. India’s domestic electrolyser manufacturing is still in its infancy and relies on assembly of imported components. ‘We need breakthrough materials that are indigenous to India,’ says Ramaswamy.

During the past two decades, researchers have developed many highly active catalysts for fuel cells and electrolysers, says Gautam. But these under-perform in the real world due to a combination of factors such as fluctuating power supply, degradation and device architecture. Gautam’s team is trying to develop and evaluate materials that can outperform commercially available catalysts under more realistic operating conditions.

To compete with other nations on green hydrogen, India also needs to step up its investment in basic research and train more researchers and engineers. As the country ‘races to meet its green hydrogen targets in the near term, it should not miss [out] on today’s investments required in R&D to provide the traction necessary for future development of electrolyser technologies, and scaled up reactors and plants’, says Ramaswamy.

Topics