Tata Motors wins tender to provide 15 hydrogen-based fuel cell buses to IOC

Tata Motors announced on Wednesday that it has bagged an order to provide Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) with 15 hydrogen-based fuel cell buses. The bid for the buses had been invited by IOCL in December of last year and now, Tata Motors - the winners of the tender process, will have 144 weeks from the date of signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deliver the units.

Hydrogen-based fuel cell vehicles are being developed the world over and are seen by many as a viable option in the fight for clean and emission-free mobility. As such, Tata Motors says that it will collaborate with the Research & Development Centre of IOCL to also study the further potential of Fuel Cell technology in commercial vehicles. "This will be done by jointly testing, maintaining and operating these buses for public transport in real-world conditions in Delhi-NCR," a press statement from the company informed. "The buses will be refueled by hydrogen, generated and dispensed by IOCL."

While electric mobility powered by battery remains the mainstay of automotive companies the world over, Tata Motors' dive into Fuel Cell technology could also have positive ramifications for the country's focus on lessening dependence on fossil fuels. "We have successfully supplied 215 EV buses under FAME I and won orders for 600 EV buses under FAME II. This order to supply PEM Fuel Cell buses from a company as respected as Indian Oil Corporation, further encourages our ongoing efforts on developing India-focused alternative sustainable fuels to transform the future of mobility in India," said Girish Wagh, President, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors.

IOCL, in turn, states that it is committed to strengthening the production and supply chain of hydrogen energy in India, and that it would be setting up 1 ton-per-day hydrogen production pilot plants.