Indian Oil inks MoU with IISc-Bangalore for hydrogen generation from biomass gasification

• Indian Oil inks MoU with Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for hydrogen generation from biomass gasification

• Hydrogen will emerge as the ultimate solution for a sustainable energy future, said Indian Oil's Chairman SM Vaidya

New Delhi: (Oil and Gas News) Indian Oil on Friday said that it has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore to develop and demonstrate biomass gasification-based hydrogen generation technology. "This process will help produce fuel cell grade hydrogen at an affordable price and accelerate Indian Oil's journey towards a sustainable hydrogen economy," it added.

Welcoming the initiative, Indian Oil's Chairman SM Vaidya, said that this collaboration will be a step forward in the generation of green hydrogen and strengthen the promising foray made by Indian Oil's research and development (R&D) teams in the hydrogen economy landscape. Hydrogen will emerge as the ultimate solution for a sustainable energy future, he added.

Giving details about the MoU, Indian Oil's Director (R&D) Dr SSV Ramakumar said that Indian Oil and IISc will jointly work for the optimisation of both biomass gasification and hydrogen purification processes. The technology will be scaled-up and demonstrated at Indian Oil's R&D Center at Faridabad. The Hydrogen generated from the plant will be used in fuel cell buses as part of the corporation's larger aspiration to usher in hydrogen economy in the country.

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This move will be another step by the Fortune 500 energy company to bring hydrogen fuel into India's mainstream energy matrix while utilizing the agrarian strengths of the country. The technology will provide cleaner energy options for India and address the challenge of waste biomass disposal, thus improving the ambient air quality.

Hydrogen based fuel cell technology is a sustainable and ultimate green mobility solution for India. Fuel cell electric vehicles are powered by hydrogen and only emit pure water as tailpipe emissions. Indian Oil has been pioneering hydrogen research in the country and recently launched the trial of 50 HCNG fuelled buses in Delhi.

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