On October 29, 2020 Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Research and Development(R&D) Centre of IndianOil Corporation Limited(IOCL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) to develop and demonstrate biomass gasification-based hydrogen generation technology to produce fuel cell-grade hydrogen at an economical price.
- This technology will provide a cleaner energy option for India and also will be a step towards addressing the challenge of biomass waste.
Points to be Noted
i.As per the MoU, IISc and IndianOil will work combinedly to optimize the biomass gasification and hydrogen purification processes.
ii.The developed technology will be improved and demonstrated at the R&D Centre of IndianOil at Faridabad, Haryana.
iii.As part of a bigger project conceived by IndianOil to usher in the hydrogen economy of India, the Hydrogen generated from this demonstration plant will be used to power fuel cell buses.
Note
IOCL based on its patented single-step reforming technology has recently launched 50 buses in Delhi by using hydrogen-CNG(Compressed Natural Gas) as a fuel.
Key Info
i.Biomass gasification based hydrogen production can produce hydrogen with relatively low carbon emissions when compared to other technologies.
ii.The hydrogen production technology based on biomass gasification developed by IISc comprises a process to produce hydrogen-rich syngas from biomass and also to separate hydrogen from syngas.
iii.It has been demonstrated in a small-scale prototype at the IISc campus.
General Info
This initiative to produce fuel cell grade hydrogen from biomass is another step by IndianOil jointly with IISc to bring hydrogen fuel to the major energy matrix of India while using the agricultural forces of India.
Recent Related News:
On April 26, 2020, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of India’s largest energy conglomerate NTPC Limited (formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited), has called for a global expressions of interest (EoI) to buy 10 Hydrogen Fuel Cell (FC) based electric buses & 10 Hydrogen Fuel Cell based electric cars to operate them in Delhi and Leh.
About Indian Institute of Science (IISc):
Location– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Director– Govindan Rangarajan
About Indian Oil Corporation Limited(IOCL):
HeadQuarters– New Delhi, India
Chairman– Shrikant Madhav Vaidya
