India: NTPC to run hydrogen buses in Leh

News 24 November’ 2024

Union Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, Govt of India, Shri Manohar Lal launched a fleet of NTPC green hydrogen buses at Leh on Saturday, 23 Nov’24. The Union Minister praised NTPC for its contribution to the country’s energy supply and took a ride on hydrogen bus.

Leh’s Green Hydrogen Mobility Project consists of an in-situ 1.7 MW solar plant, five hydrogen intra-city buses, and an 80 kg/day green hydrogen filling station. A single bus may travel 300 kilometers when filled with 25 kilograms of hydrogen.

Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh, is at highest altitude (3650 m MSL) in the world. The filling station can fill hydrogen at 350 bar of pressure and is built to function in low-density air and below-freezing temperatures. The station will give 230 MT of pure oxygen annually to the environment, which is equivalent to planting around 13,000 trees, and reduce carbon emissions by about 350 MT annually.

Ladakh has a lot of potential for green hydrogen mobility solutions because of its high solar irradiance and low temperatures, which make it an ideal place to produce solar power and green hydrogen. These sites could become self-sufficient in terms of energy needs if this green fuel are produced and used there, avoiding the logistics of fossil fuels.