CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, part of the government of India’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, is working on developing materials fit for hydrogen generation and storage, such as special tanks made of carbon fibre and composites, says Magesh Nandagopal, Principal Scientist and Head – Technology Management Group, CSIR-NCL told businessline during an interaction at the Industry Institutions Partnership Summit 2022

NCL has been reaching out to industries and many of them have come on board, he said. It is partnering with some companies for testing and associated areas. “Some industries have already leaped and done some work. We don’t want to recreate it, whatever is done, we just want to leap ahead,’” he added.

Sourcing global technology

Is there an opportunity to source global technology? Nandagopal said there are limitations in adapting the global solutions, We can learn from them, but the right approach will be to have indigenous technology and solutions.

“What will happen is that global firms may give us the technology, but they won’t give us the catalyst, which is one of the most crucial components technology-wise and value-wise. Hence, the fuel cell bus that NCL demonstrated was developed from scratch.“

“The next 20 years will be an important period where there will be cut-throat scenario. If we have an indigenous solution to it, then we are in a better position. But, we have a long way to go. Efficiencies have to improve and commercialisation has to reach a certain stage. But we’re not being complacent about it as our journey started much earlier in 2002,” he said.

CSIR started working on fuel cell technology in 2002 and developed everything in-house from scratch for its fuel cell bus. In 2008, it filed one of the first patents for the fuel cell technology, and 4 months prior to the launch of the National Hydrogen Mission, which was announced in March 2022 by the Central Government, India’s first indigenously developed hydrogen fuel cell bus, developed by CSIR-NCL and CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) in collaboration with Sentient Labs, was demonstrated in Pune.

comment COMMENT NOW