Tata Motors has won a tender of 15 hydrogen-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell buses from Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). IOCL had invited bids for supply of PEM fuel cell buses in December 2020. All 15 buses will be delivered within 144 weeks from the date of signing of the MOU.
In addition to supplying the buses to the Research & Development (R&D) Centre of IOCL, Tata Motors will also collaborate with them to undertake R&D projects and collectively study further the potential of fuel cell technology for commercial vehicles. This will be done by jointly testing, maintaining and operating these buses for public transport in Delhi-NCR. The buses will be refuelled by hydrogen generated and dispensed by IOCL.
In June 2021, Tata Motors announced its plan to introduce 10 new battery electric vehicles (EVs) by 2025 as a part of its plans to shift towards sustainable mobility. The company will also invest in charging infrastructure across the country. Additionally, Tata Motors is exploring partnerships in cell and battery manufacturing across India and Europe to secure battery supplies. Jaguar Land Rover, a subsidiary of Tata, is targeting 100 percent zero tailpipe emissions for the portfolio it sells by 2036. Currently, Tata Motors has more than 350 buses deployed under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and EV (FAME) I and II schemes.
In the same month the company set up various EV charging stations along with Tata Power. It inaugurated 2 high-speed CCS2 EV charging stations one each at ShreejiAutomart, Piplod and Pramukh Auto, Umiya Nagar in Surat. Both companies inaugurated a high-speed CCS2 EV charging station at RSA Motors in Chandigarh as well.
Recently, along with Tata Power it jointly inaugurated India’s largest grid-synchronised, behind-the-meter solar carport at its car plant in Chikhali, Pune. The 6.2 MWp solar carport deployed by Tata Power will generate 86.4 lakh kWh of electricity per year and is estimated to reduce 7,000 tons of carbon emissions annually and 160,000 tons over its lifecycle.