Innovation in Hydrogen Storage and Biofuels & Technology Mix
- emphasized innovations in hydrogen storage, particularly the use of Type-4 carbon fiber cylinders, which are up to 70% lighter than traditional Type-1 steel cylinders and can significantly reduce transportation and vehicle weight costs.
- highlighted biofuels as a game-changer, noting that India aims to achieve 20% ethanol blending by 2025, and biofuels could play a crucial role in decarbonizing hard-to-abate transport segments.
- also pointed out that hydrogen refueling infrastructure remains one of the key challenges today. Unlike CNG and LNG, which already have relatively established refueling networks, hydrogen requires dedicated infrastructure investments, which directly affects adoption.
- from a customer perspective, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) remains a decisive factor—and technologies must be competitive not just in emissions but in lifecycle cost and operational reliability.
Technology Mix for Net-Zero Mobility
Hybrid approach, combining biofuels and batteries, citing that blended approaches could reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 60–70%, depending on fuel type and application.
- emphasized that any net-zero compatible fuel paired with battery support (e.g., H2ICE + battery or biofuels + battery) could offer flexibility, cost-efficiency, and scalability—especially for medium-duty and rural mobility segments.
H2ICE as a Transitional Technology
- H2ICE as a Transitional Technology
Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines (H2ICE) can leverage the existing ICE manufacturing and maintenance ecosystem, offering a 30–40% cost advantage over early-stage hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs). - While hydrogen-powered vehicles have lower energy efficiency (25–30%) compared to Battery Electric Trucks (BETs) with 70–90% efficiency, H2-based trucks are approaching cost parity with BETs for certain heavy-duty, long- haul applications, especially where quick refueling and payload optimization are critical.
- strongly emphasized that the source of hydrogen production is crucial— using fossil-based hydrogen in transport merely shifts emissions, rather than reducing them. For true decarbonization, only green hydrogen (produced via renewable energy) should be deployed in the transport sector.
Policy and Infrastructure requirements with Self-Sustaining and Indigenous Solutions
All speakers agreed on the urgency of strong policy interventions, including: Hydrogen fuel availability, with projections indicating India will require 5 million tones of green hydrogen annually by 2030 to meet decarbonization targets.
Refueling infrastructure—a key bottleneck—with suggestions for stations every 5 km on freight corridors, similar to EV charging infrastructure planning under FAME II. Meanwhile the challenges such as life of FCEV which is only 40,000 hour’s needs to be addressed through various R&D efforts in suggestions with various OEM manufactures.
Support for dual-use technologies like bidirectional fuel cells, which can act as both power sources and storage
Focus on Self-Sustaining and Indigenous Solutions
A strong emphasis was placed on self-reliant, decentralized energy solutions like Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs).
SOFCs can run on biodiesel and syngas, making them suitable for off-grid and rural applications. India’s bioenergy potential is estimated at over 25 GW, underscoring the importance of tapping into this domestic resource base.
