Union Minister Sonowal Announces Plan To Build ‘Made In India’ Hydrogen Fuelled Ships

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, on Saturday (30 April) at the ‘Workshop on Green Shipping’ organised in Kochi by the Ministry jointly with Cochin Shipyard Limited and The Energy and Resources Institute, announced the Government’s plan for building Hydrogen Fuelled Electric Vessels.

He said that 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.

He also announced that Cochin Shipyard Limited has committed to invest an initial corpus of Rs 50 crore in Start-up companies engaged in the maritime sector.

The project to build a hydrogen-fuelled vessel would be carried out by Cochin Shipyard Limited in collaboration with Indian partners, and the groundwork in this regard has already begun, wherein Cochin Shipyard Limited 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.

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 Rs 17.5 crore, of which the Government of India would fund 75 per cent.

“The development of Hydrogen Fuelled Electric Vessels is considered as a launchpad for the country to tap the vast opportunities lying in the Coastal and Inland vessels segment both nationally and internationally,” the Ministry said.

“This project helps in achieving India’s ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral by 2070 and also in complying with the standards set by International Maritime Organisation (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,” it added.

Hydrogen Fuel cells can be used in various applications, including transportation. Fuel cells operating on hydrogen fuel are an efficient and environmentally-friendly power source already applied to heavy-duty bus, truck, and train applications and are now under development for marine applications.