Mumbai: Kerala has been awarded Rs 34.84 crore funding for its green hydrogen pilot project in the transport sector. MNRE is funding and ARAI is approving the project on behalf of MNRE since it is related to transport, N Veluri, chief executive officer, ANERT, told ETEergyWorld.
The total project cost is estimated at Rs 40 crores, with Rs 34.85 crores – which is about 90 per cent – supported through viability gap funding (VGF) under the Green Hydrogen Pilot Scheme.
The funding amount consists of a VGF of Rs 5.45 crore sanctioned for vehicles and Rs 29.39 crore for hydrogen refuelling station. ANERT will bear the expenses related to green hydrogen fuel costs during the first two years to subsidise operations.
Two routes which have been sanctioned under this are Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi and Kochi to Edappaly.
The initiative is funded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and implemented by the Automotive Research Association of India. Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT), the state’s nodal agency, has been selected as the executing agency. The funding has been approved by the Project Appraisal Committee.
A total of four trucks have been sanctioned comprising two HICE trucks and two FCEV trucks of 28-tonne category or above, each required to complete 60,000 kilometres within 24 months. These trucks will be deployed for transport of spares by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
It also includes sanction for two hydrogen refuelling stations with a minimum capacity of 260 kg per day at 350 bar to be established one near Muttathara in Trivandrum and the other near Udyogamandal in Kochi.
Partners for this project are Ashok Leyland which will supply hydrogen trucks, BPCL and Greenstat India for developing refuelling infrastructure, and KSRTC as the operational partner for hydrogen-powered trucks.
The Letter of Award for the project was issued on December 26, 2024. ANERT, along with its consortium partners, aims to complete it within the 24-month timeline.
This initiative aims to demonstrate the feasibility and scalability of hydrogen technology in transport by deploying hydrogen-powered vehicles and establishing hydrogen refuelling stations in Kerala.
The pilot project focuses on immediate infrastructure development, collaborations in hydrogen production, storage technologies, and supply chain development. In addition to the proposed vehicles, the refuelling stations are designed to support future trucks, buses, and cars.
MNRE is the nodal agency for the National Green Hydrogen Mission. Under this mission various experts will be implementing various pilots on use cases of green hydrogen. For example, DRE steel by the Ministry of Steel Ports by the Ministry of shipping and ports and in this case since it is transporting ARAI under MORTH will be the technical agency implementing but under overall guidance of NGHM of MNRE.
ARAI is implementing it on the Central government level and ANERT is implementing it at state level for Kerala.
