The Union Minister for Power and Housing and Urban Affairs inaugurated NTPC’s fleet of green hydrogen buses in Leh as part of its Green Hydrogen Mobility Project. The project includes an in-situ 1.7 MW solar plant, a green hydrogen filling station with a capacity of 80 kg/day, and five intra-city hydrogen buses.
The buses are designed to operate in high-altitude conditions at 3,650 meters above sea level, low air density, and sub-zero temperatures. Each bus has a range of 300 km on a single hydrogen filling of 25 kg, with the station capable of filling hydrogen at 350 bar pressure. The initiative leverages the high solar irradiance and low temperatures in Ladakh to enhance solar power and green hydrogen production efficiency, addressing the region’s energy self-sufficiency by reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
In November 2024, NTPC announced the establishment of a 1-tonne/day seawater-to-green hydrogen plant through NETRA, the Research and Development centre of NTPC, at Simhadri near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, utilising low-carbon desalination powered by waste heat from thermal power flue gas, resulting in hydrogen-grade water obtained from seawater conversion at a lower cost.
