Hydrogen fuel cell technology is emerging globally as a valuable multisector alternative for fossil fuels.
What is the need for the push towards alternative energy sources?
Combating climate change
Preventing the ecological degradation
Reaching the net-zero emissions goal in the next few decades
Reducing the carbon footprint
What is the fuel cell technology?
A fuel cell uses the chemical energy of hydrogen or other fuels to cleanly and efficiently produce electricity.
If hydrogen is the fuel, the only products are electricity, water, and heat.
Working- Fuel cells work like batteries, but they do not run down or need recharging.
They produce electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied.
A fuel cell consists of two electrodes—anode and cathode sandwiched around an electrolyte.
A fuel, such as hydrogen, is fed to the anode, and air is fed to the cathode.
The electrons go through an external circuit, creating a flow of electricity.
The protons migrate through the electrolyte to the cathode, where they unite with oxygen and the electrons to produce water and heat.
What are fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)?
Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are powered by hydrogen.
FCEVs use electricity to power an electric motor but instead of using electricity through batteries, FCEVs generate electricity using a fuel cell stack powered by hydrogen, which is stored on-board.
FCEVs are among the cleanest modes of transportations as they release no harmful emissions, and only emit water vapour and warm air.
With future technical enhancements, there will be a forecasted improvement in overall WTW (well-to-wheel) efficiency for FCEVs which is pegged at around 30–35 % today.
Benefits
Achieve energy security
Fulfill de-carbonisation goals
Possess higher energy density (more energy per unit mass)
Require shorter fuelling durations
Have long-range applications that are not viable with battery electric vehicles because of the constraints of LI-Ion batteries
Inherent renewability component
Helps in reducing greenhouse emissions
No emissions and environmental friendly
What are the challenges?
Hydrogen technology is still at a very nascent stage in the country, and there is limited infrastructure and scale of hydrogen dispensing units available.
This makes the acquisition and total cost of ownership for FCEVs higher.
Most hydrogen production methods deployed today rely on fossil fuels.
What is the road ahead?
The government incentives and localisation of core aggregates are likely to reduce costs and improve the overall economics of FCEV.
With these positive steps, one can expect a decisive move towards a sustainable future of mobility, with hydrogen fuel cell technology playing a predominant role across segments, in public transport, commercial vehicles, and passenger vehicles.
