Fuel Cells in India: A Survey of Current Developments

11 December 2002

Author: Mark Cropper, Fuel Cell Today

Although few complete systems have been built and relatively small sums of
money invested, there is considerable interest in fuel cells in India. Research and
development work began in the early 1980s, and the number of organisations
interested in the technology continues to grow. This article details many of these,
as well as giving a general overview of the state of development. It also explores
the potential market for fuel cells in India.

At present, phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) technology is at the most advanced
stage, primarily owing to the work of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, details of
which follow. However, the number of organisations active in proton exchange
membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) development is now increasing, and a number have
also begun work on direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), although development is
still at the lab stage.

Limited work has been carried out on Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFC) and
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) by different agencies such as the TATA Energy
Research Institute (TERI), Central Electro Chemical Research Institute
(CECRI), and the Central Glass & Ceramics Research Institute (CGCRI).

Although Indian developed fuel cell technology is, in most cases, at an early
stage, there are plenty of incentives for developers to see the technology through
to commercialisation. With regard to stationary applications, power outages are
frequent, stimulating demand for back-up power systems.

In addition, power generation is being decentralised and there are still thousands
of communities without access to electricity (estimated to stand at 80,000
villages). According to a report by TERI almost a quarter of these are so remote
that they will depend on stand-alone renewable energy systems for power, an
ideal market for fuel cells in the 10-50kW range. Even smaller systems could be
used to power irrigation, a large consumer of electricity generated in rural areas.

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Fuel could be derived from ethanol or hydrogen from biomass, which would not
be a challenge owing to the size of the agrarian economy in India.

On the transport side, fuel cells could help solve India’s major pollution problems.
Delhi is considered the worst-polluted city in the world, and air quality in many
other Indian cities is also very poor. This has already led to legislation in favour
of clean technologies: New Delhi bus operators, for example, have been ordered
to convert from diesel to CNG.

New Delhi will also play host to the first demonstration of fuel cell buses in India,
which is being funded by the Global Environment Foundation (United Nations
Development Programme). A timescale has not yet been finalised.

India is also a potential market for smaller fuel cell vehicles such as scooters. A
fuel cell powered three wheeled scooter is currently under development at
Scooters India Ltd.

Highlights for the past year include the announcement in March 2002 that India
and the United States would initiate a joint programme on hydrogen energy. This
led to a workshop in June 2002, which aimed to introduce key US and Indian fuel
cell experts and agree upon a specific project for development.

On the negative side, funds to support fuel cell development in India are very
limited. Indeed, it is estimated that less than US$10 million has been spent on
research in over two decades. Most of this funding has been provided by the
Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, which has a Chemical Sources of
Energy Programme dedicated to fuel cell development.

In addition, it is worth noting that fuel cells are still a long way from
commercialisation in India. Indeed, as yet no Indian-based organisations have
announced plans to commercialise fuel cells, although this could change relatively
soon.

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Below follow profiles of a number of Indian companies active in fuel cell

development.

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Banars Hindu University is researching metal hydrides for the storage of
hydrogen for use in fuel cells.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) is a public sector company under the
Department of Heavy Industries. It is the largest engineering and manufacturing
enterprise in India working in the energy related sector. Its products generate
almost three-quarters of power generated in India.

BHEL began development of Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell technology in 1987. Since
then it has developed and demonstrated prototype systems ranging from 1kW (in
1991) to 5kW (1995) and 50kW (2000-1). The 50kW PAFC system, which
consisted of two 25kW stacks, was the largest indigenous fuel cell to be operated
in India to date. This has been operated for several hundred hours fuelled with
by-product hydrogen from a chlor-alkali plant.

BHEL 50kW Power Pack during testing in December 2000

(Source: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd)

Between 1998 and 2000 Bharat operated an ONSI PC25C PAFC system fuelled by
LPG (Propane/Butane mixture), which might now be converted to run off natural
gas. Funding for this project was provided by India’s Ministry of Non-Conventional
Energy Sources. BHEL now has plans to work on PEMFC development as well,
and has initiated development in conjunction with the Indian Institute of Science,
from which it acquired basic technology in 2002. Development is currently at the
single cell stage. BHEL is also working on PEMFC components, including moulded
bipolar plates using cheap resins.

Birla Hitech was formed to develop clean energy technology products with a
particular focus on PEM fuel cells. It is planning to set up dedicated

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manufacturing facilities for the construction of PEMFC components (balance of
plant, bipolar plates, stacks) and systems in India. It is currently seeking partners
for a joint venture, and has initiated correspondence with a number of US fuel cell
companies. It is part of the Birla Group Company (BGC), which has a nationwide
marketing and maintenance service network for portable generator sets
manufactured by Birla Yamaha Ltd.

Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute has carried out some work on
solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) as has the Central Electrochemical Research
Institute. Few details have been revealed, although it is safe to say that work is
at a very early stage.

Hybrid Fuel Cell Mini Bus developed by CER-SSF, the first fuel cell vehicle in India
(Source: India Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources)

Centre for Energy Research, SPIC Science Foundation (CER-SSF) has been
working on PEMFC development since the early 1990s. Since then it has built and
demonstrated several PEMFC prototypes ranging in size from 100W to 5kW.
Highlights include the construction of a hybrid van powered by a PEMFC and
fuelled by compressed hydrogen, and the successful operation of 500W PEMFC
systems in Antarctica. CER-SSF is now developing low cost PEMFCs for a wide
range of applications including portable, stationary power and (eventually)
transportation.

CER-SSF is taking part in a national consortium led by National Chemical

Laboratories (NCL), in the development of a 5kW PEMFC system for distributed
power generation. This program is supported under the New Millennium
Indian Technology Leadership Initiative programme of the Council of

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Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The fuel processor is being
developed at NCL; the fuel cell stack at CER-SSF and the control system at BHEL.
Süd Chemie is working with NCL on the reformer catalyst development. An initial
prototype is due to be completed in March 2003. Some development work is also
being carried out at CER-SSF on regenerative fuel cells, PEM electrolysers and
hydrogen sensors. For more information, visit www.spicscience.org

Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), a public sector enterprise under the Indian
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, is involved in the transportation,
processing and marketing of natural gas through its pipeline networks in India. It
operates 4,400km of natural gas pipeline and 1,270km of liquefied petroleum gas
pipeline, and has several gas processing plants. GAIL is interested in promoting
fuel cells for applications including industrial, uninterruptible and residential
power. It could provide the fuel infrastructure in India for a wide range of
suitable fuels, including hydrogen, natural gas, propane, butane and methanol. It
is also interested in taking part in fuel cell field trials.

Indian Institute of Science, Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit has
successfully developed lab scale DMFC and PEMFC prototypes with commercially
viable power densities even while operating at near ambient conditions. It is
working closely with NED Energy (see below).

International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New

Materials (ARCI), which concentrates on advanced material development, is
developing high conductivity bipolar graphite subsystems and porous carbon
paper, both for use in PEMFCs.

Mahindra & Mahindra, the second largest automotive manufacturer in India,

produces a wide range of utility, light commercial and agricultural vehicles. It is
working actively on alternative fuel technologies for automotive applications,
including fuel cells for automotive vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and ethanol fuelled
vehicles. At present, no more details have been disclosed.

NED Energy Ltd develops and manufactures advanced long life low maintenance
batteries for use in solar photovoltaic systems, telecommunications and on
railways. It is conducting basic research and development of PEM and direct
methanol fuel cells in association with the Indian Institute of Science’s Solid State
and Structural Chemistry Unit.

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Reva Electric Car Company (RECC)
The Reva Electric Car Company, an Indo-US joint venture, has developed a small
electric car for use in urban areas, mass production of which is already underway.
The company currently has an installed capacity of 5,000 units per year and
employs over 180 people. The Reva car is the cheapest commercially produced
electric car in the world, retailing at around US$5,500.

The Reva Electric Car Company has plans to use fuel cells in future versions of
vehicles like the one pictured here (Source: Reva Electric Car Company)

Looking to the future, RECC plans to exploit its experience with the system
integration of electric vehicles to build fuel cell vehicles. It already has plans to
build two fuel cell powered demonstration vehicles.

Scooters India Ltd designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range
of three-wheeled vehicles. In January 2002 it announced that it was developing a
fuel cell-based three wheel vehicle, which was likely to be unveiled in 2003.
Development of the vehicle is being supported by India's Ministry of Non-
conventional Energy Sources. Scooters India is a state-owned company.

Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI), was a pioneer of fuel cell

development in India, having been involved in fuel cell R & D since the mid-
1980s. Since then it has worked in various capacities on MCFCs, PAFCs, and
PEMFCs. Its fuel cell activities (which have included producing reports and
feasibility studies for third-parties) are conducted by its “Chemical and Hydrogen
Energy” group.

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An MCFC programme at TERI was initiated in 1993, focused on developing and
demonstrating a MCFC stack. After extensive work on fundamentals and
components, three and six cell stacks have been tested. The stack design is
based on internally manifolded gas distribution design.

United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Foundation

is planning a five-year test and demonstration programme of eight fuel-cell buses
(FCBs) for public transport in New Delhi. The major objective is to introduce an
efficient technology that can cut local air pollution and global greenhouse
emissions. It will assist the Indian transport sector to gain capability in
manufacturing, operating, and servicing FCBs under local conditions. It will also
help create an initial volume demand and provide useful feedback of operating
experience for the FCB developers/manufacturers to further improve the bus
design and reduce the bus cost.

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This review will continue to be regularly updated in order to give an indication of

how the market discussed is developing. If you know of, or are involved in, any
fuel cell projects in India that should be included in this survey, please let us
know. Information can be emailed to marketsurvey@fuelcelltoday.com

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