- Vyttila Mobility Hub to host hydrogen dispensing station
The public sector Travancore Cochin Chemicals (TCC) is set to become a major supplier of hydrogen, the fuel of the future. The government has constituted a State Hydrogen Mission and announced plans to buy 10 hydrogen-fuel buses, marking a shift from traditional fuel to sustainable alternatives.
It is reported that the Vyttila Mobility Hub will host a major hydrogen dispensing station. Hydrogen dispensed from the hub will serve both water transport vessels linked to Kochi Metro as well as public transport vehicles.
The TCC, founded in 1951 with registered office and factory at Eloor in Udyogamandal, near Kochi, is a chlor-alkali unit with hydrogen as by-product from the production of caustic soda. Hydrogen from the TCC has been identified as the cheapest to meet the need for hydrogen fuel cell buses in the State.
Hydrogen from the TCC is of 99.6% purity. But the automotive sector requires hydrogen of 99.9% purity, which can be supplied to the hydrogen mission for the transport sector. The TCC is in the midst of establishing infrastructure both for purification of hydrogen and to store and dispense it. Bids have been called for establishing the infrastructure that include bottling and dispensing facilities, company sources said.
The TCC produces around 4.5 tonnes of hydrogen a day and the production is expected to go up to six tonnes a day from next month. The demand from the hydrogen mission is 350 kg per day.
The TCC is already using hydrogen as fuel for its boilers, replacing feedstock furnace oil. The savings are financial as well as in terms of a drastic cut in environmental pollution. Hydrogen is a zero emission fuel. When hydrogen is burnt, the end product is water, say those associated with the project.
The TCC, which invested ₹60 crore from its own reserves to fund new facilities, including a 75-tonne-per-day caustic soda plant, floating jetty, and conversion of the boiler to feedstock LNG, has sought government assistance to establish infrastructure for hydrogen purification, bottling, and dispensing.
The company, with around 450 employees, has made a remarkable turnaround from losses with a turnover of ₹260 crore last year . The better performance is backed by the commissioning of the new facilities.
Read the most up to date Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Industry news at FuelCellsWorks
