Amara Raja Infra Commissions India’s First Green Hydrogen Fuelling Station in Ladakh
Amara Raja Infra Pvt. Ltd. has successfully commissioned India’s first Green Hydrogen fueling station in Leh, Ladakh.
The inauguration of this station was done by Mr. Manohar Lal, the Union Power Minister and Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs. Amara Raja was awarded the contract to develop this fueling station in July 2022 by NTPC Limited.
Key Features of Amara Raja Infra’s Green Hydrogen Fueling Station
Amara Raja’s newly established Green Hydrogen fueling station is capable of producing approximately 80 Kg of Green Hydrogen per day. The company handled the designing, engineering, construction, testing, and commissioning of this fuelling station.
Additionally, Amara Raja will also be responsible for Operation & Maintenance (O&M) services of the Green Hydrogen fuelling station for a period of three years. Amara Raja Infra executed construction of this station in a period of two years. Situated at an elevation of 3,400 meters above sea level, the fueling station is designed to operate in extreme temperatures ranging from -25°C to 30°C.
This Green Hydrogen fuelling station is powered by a 1.25 MW solar power plant developed at Leh by NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd. (NTPC REL).
Commenting on this development, Mr. Dwarakanadha Reddy, Business Head (Power EPC) at Amara Raja Infra said “The completion of this challenging project reaffirms our EPC expertise.. we were the first player to enter the Green Hydrogen infrastructure space”.
NTPC’s Green Mobility Project in Ladakh
The Green Hydrogen fueling station is expected to support carbon-emission-free transport in and around Leh. NTPC, as a part of its Green Mobility project, had started trial run of Green Hydrogen fuel cell buses in Leh in August 2023. The first Hydrogen bus reached Leh on 17th August 2023, which as per NTPC, was India’s first ever deployment of Hydrogen buses on public roads.
Strategic Importance and Future Outlook
This project serves as a precursor to large-scale Green Hydrogen mobility and storage initiatives that will be rolled out across India under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM). It will also help in studying the feasibility and deployment of additional Hydrogen fueling stations across the country.
Green Hydrogen Mobility in India: An Approach to Attain Carbon Net-Zero Goals
India is one of the first countries to experiment with Hydrogen in the transportation sector. As per the World Economic Forum’s report dated 6th December 2024, the transport sector contributes around 8.4% to India’s carbon footprint. India has a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2070 and targets to lower the transport sector’s contribution to its carbon footprint by advancing Hydrogen adoption.
Toyota Mirai car, a hydrogen-powered vehicle was launched in India in 2022. As per several media reports, a number of Hydrogen-powered vehicles, including three-wheelers, cars, and buses, are scheduled to be launched in 2024. Indian Railways is set to begin trail run of India’s first Hydrogen-powered train between Jind and Sonipat railway stations in Haryana. In October 2024, Ashok Leyland also announced plans to launch its first Hydrogen-powered truck in the next 18 to 24 months.
As per Mercom’s February 2024 article, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched pilot projects to facilitate deployment of Green Hydrogen through fuel cell electric vehicles. These projects target to support development of technologies for using Green Hydrogen as a fuel in buses, trucks and 4-wheelers.
