Billionaire Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has unveiled India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine technology (H2ICE) solution for heavy duty trucks.
The newly developed (H2ICE) powered truck was flagged off by India’s prime minister Narendra Modi at the India Energy Week, which is being held in Bangalore, a global IT hub and the capital city of southern Indian state of Karnataka, the company wrote in a statement.
As per RIL H2ICE powered trucks will emit near zero emissions, deliver performance on par with conventional diesel trucks and reduce noise and with projected reductions in operating costs thus redefining the future of green mobility, the statement noted.
“As part of its net carbon zero vison, Reliance with its vehicle partner Ashok Leyland and
other technical partners are engaged in developing this unique technology since the last
year with first engines running in early 2022,” RIL said in a statement.
Going forward, Reliance will first extensively test and validate the H2ICE technology for heavy duty trucks before its first commercial deployment at scale initially across its captive fleet, Indian petrochemical giant said.
Simultaneously Reliance is pursuing the opportunity to create an end-to-end Hydrogen eco system for mobility.
India’s penchant for hydrogen
As per Indian media reports, India is betting on the promoting the industrial usage of hydrogen, which can be produced by splitting water using electricity, to reduce crude oil import bills.
Hydrogen finds wide applicability, from refineries to steel plants and fertiliser units where it can replace hydrocarbons. Hydrogen can also be used as fuel in automobiles but its current cost of manufacturing is very high. But this hasn’t stopped companies from investing in hydrogen manufacturing.
In January, Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), part of the diversified Adani portfolio of companies, signed an agreement to launch a pilot project to develop a hydrogen fuel cell electric truck (FCET) for mining logistics and transportation with Ashok Leyland, India, and Ballard Power, Canada.