Supply crunch threatens to delay green-hydrogen fuel project

Supply crunch of components in the auto industry is threatening to stall the pilot project of running buses on green hydrogen fuel cells, being implemented by Tata Motors and the Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), says a report in Business Line. Sources said the delay in supply of critical components is threatening to prolong the field trials of the much-awaited project.

Quoting "sources close to the development", the report says that Tata Motors is yet to supply the buses on which the trials are to be done.

Here is what the report says:

Why the delay

“Ideation, planning, etc have taken place. The pace has been slowed as buses are yet to be supplied on which tests are to be done,” the report quotes sources at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG). Another government official said the delivery is taking time due to supply disruption and the delay in receiving components. It is understood that the buses will be made by Tata Motors, but it is not clear whether Tata is working on green hydrogen-based engine or if it is importing critical components from countries like China, Japan or South Korea, they said.

Recap

Tata Motors, in June last year, had announced that it won a tender of 15 hydrogen-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell buses from IOCL, which had invited bids in December 2020. In addition to supplying the buses to the Research & Development Centre of IOCL, Tata Motors said it would also collaborate with them to undertake R&D projects and collectively study the potential of fuel cell technology for commercial vehicles. 

“This will be done by jointly testing, maintaining and operating these buses for public transport in real-world conditions in Delhi-NCR. The buses will be re-fuelled by hydrogen, generated and dispensed by IOCL,” it had said. The company had also said “all the 15 buses will be delivered within 144 weeks from the date of signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)“.

Meanwhile, sources at Tata Motors clarified that the initial supply of two buses are already with IOCL for trials and the rest are supposed to be supplied by 2023 (144 weeks from the date of MoU), which the company would make it.