By Business India Editorial

The country’s first green hydrogen fuelling station is all set to be commissioned at Leh, Ladakh, next May.

The first-of-its-kind project is being set up by state-run NTPC. Its contract had been awarded to Amara Raja Power Systems, part of the $1.3 billion Amara Raja Group, in June. 

“We have already started the execution of the project. The engineering part is almost complete and now we are in the process of finalising electrolyser manufacturers. We plan to complete the project by April-May next year,” said Dwarakanadha Reddy, Business Head, Amara Raja Power Systems. Under the project, green hydrogen will be produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis powered by renewable energy.

The project is being set up at a height of 3,600 metres above sea level with a temperature variation of minus 14 degrees to plus 20 degrees Celsius. “We have evaluated all the vendors who produce electrolysers. Leh-Ladakh area being at a high altitude we have to ensure that the equipment works as per specifications. That is the key,” Reddy added. 

The pilot project will produce 80 kilogram per day of 99.97 per cent pure hydrogen that will be compressed, stored and dispensed. NTPC plans to ply five hydrogen fuel cell buses in the region. 

Reddy said the company's responsibility is to produce green power for hydrogen production and dispense hydrogen to the buses for three years. While the Leh project will use green hydrogen for mobility, in the longer run, Amara Raja also plans to bid for green hydrogen projects for industrial applications. 

NTPC's wholly-owned subsidiary NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (NTPC REL) had floated the tender for the project in July last year. NTPC REL is also setting up a 1.25 MW solar power plant to make the hydrogen Fuelling Station completely green. The completion of the project is expected to ease the surface transport issues of the Union Territory of Ladakh and mark India's entry into the select group of countries using green hydrogen for transport applications.

Meanwhile, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has recently said that hydrogen-powered trains will be ready in India by 2023.