The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways will to build the first indigenous hydrogen-fuelled electric vessels at Cochin Shipyard Limited(CSL).
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced this while unveiling the government’s plan for building the vessels in keeping pace with the global maritime green transitions at a workshop on green shipping organised by the Ministry jointly with CSL and The Energy and Resources Institute here on Saturday.
The hydrogen fuel cell vessel based on Low Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Technology (LT-PEM) called Fuel Cell Electric Vessel (FCEV) is expected to cost around ₹17.50 crore of which 75 per cent would be funded by the Government, the Minister said.
The project would be carried out by Cochin Shipyard Limited in collaboration with Indian partners. The ground work has already begun, wherein CSL has partnered with KPIT Technologies Limited and Indian developers in the areas of Hydrogen Fuel cell, power train and Indian Register of Shipping for developing rules and regulation for such vessels.
Green shipping
The move is part of India’s transformative efforts on the innovative and new technology front on green energy, sustainable cost-effective alternate fuel front.
Hydrogen fuel cells can be used in a wide range of applications, including transportation, material handling, stationary, portable, and emergency backup power applications. Fuel cells operating on hydrogen fuel are an efficient, environmentally-friendly, zero emission, direct current (DC) power source and are now under development for marine applications.
The development of hydrogen fuelled electric vessels is considered as a launch pad for the country to tap the vast opportunities lying in the coastal and inland vessels segment both nationally and internationally, the Minister said.
The project is expected to augment the efforts of the nation in achieving the Prime Minister’s ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral by 2070 and also in complying with the standards set by International Maritime Organization (IMO) that envisages a reduction in carbon intensity of international shipping by at least 40 per cent by 2030 and progressively to 70 per cent by 2050.