Current Affairs

Issue

Union minister of Transport Nitin Gadkari recently travelled to Parliament on a hydrogen-powered car.

 

Background

The vehicle was Toyota Mirai, which has three hydrogen tanks, which can be refilled in about five minutes. It has a 1.24 kWh lithium ion battery pack powered by a 182 hp electric motor.

 

Details

The minister’s use of the vehicle is seen as a strong indication of shift in centre’s policy for exploring other mobility methods instead of conventional EVs.

 

Types of electric vehicles

• Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), Battery-powered Electric Vehicle (BEV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are different types.

• FCEVs use hydrogen gas to power an on-board electric motor. They are considered EVs as they are completely powered by electricity.

• Compared to BEV, they are different as they follow traditional fuelling process. The fuelling time is about five minutes compared to 35-40 minutes for BEVs.

• The biggest benefit of FCEV is that it has five times better energy storage per unit volume. This allows rider to go farther.

 

India’s policy on hydrogen vehicles

• The government had announced plans to launch a comprehensive National Hydrogen Energy Mission.

• A Hydrogen Energy Mission in 2021-22 was announced in budget for generating hydrogen from green power sources.