• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari launched India’s first green hydrogen-based advanced fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), Toyota Mirai. 

• Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), along with the International Center for Automotive Technology (ICAT), is conducting a pilot project to study and evaluate the world’s most advanced FCEV Toyota Mirai, which runs on hydrogen, on Indian roads and climatic conditions.

• This will be the first-of-its-kind project in the country aimed at spreading awareness about hydrogen and FCEV technology, and disseminating its benefits to support hydrogen-based society for India.

• It is an important initiative which will promote clean energy and environmental protection by reducing dependence on fossil fuels and  thereby make India energy independent by 2047.

What is fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV)?

• Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are powered by hydrogen. 

• They are more efficient than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and produce no tailpipe emissions — they only emit water vapour and warm air. 

• FCEVs use fuel cell stacks to convert onboard gaseous hydrogen to electricity, which is then stored in a battery to power the vehicle’s electric motor.

• Toyota Kirloskar Motor said Toyota Mirai was launched in 2014 and was one of the world’s first hydrogen fuel electric vehicles.

• The company claimed that Toyota Mirai is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell battery pack and capable of providing a range up to 650 km in a single charge, with a refuelling time of five minutes.

• In Japanese, the word ‘Mirai’ means ‘future’.

• At the core of Mirai, hydrogen from the fuel tank and air entering from the intake grille meet in the fuel cell stack. There, a chemical reaction involving the oxygen in the air and hydrogen creates electricity, powering Mirai. 

Green hydrogen

• The introduction and adoption of technology to tap into the green hydrogen’s potential will play a key role in securing a clean and affordable energy future for India.

• Hydrogen when produced by electrolysis using renewable energy is known as green hydrogen, which has no carbon footprint. 

• Green hydrogen can be generated from renewable energy and abundantly available biomass.

• As the world rapidly moves to decarbonise the entire energy system, hydrogen is poised to play a vital role and build on the rapid scale-up of renewable resources across the world. 

• India is committed to cleaner energy and a low-carbon pathway for achieving accelerated economic growth.

• Hydrogen is a key element of the energy strategy and will play a key role in the low-carbon energy pathways.

• Green hydrogen offers huge opportunities to decarbonise a range of sectors, including road transportation, and is gaining unprecedented momentum globally.

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