India to develop and build first indigenous Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vessel at Cochin Shipyard

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways decided to develop and build the first indigenous Hydrogen Fuelled Electric Vessels at Cochin Shipyard Limited, kick starting the efforts of the country towards green shipping. At the Workshop on Green Shipping organised by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, jointly with Cochin Shipyard Limited and The Energy and Resources Institute, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Hon'ble Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways unveiled the Government's plan for building Hydrogen Fuelled Electric Vessels keeping pace with the Global Maritime Green Transitions. The move is part of India's transformative efforts on the innovative and new technology front on green energy, sustainable cost-effective alternate fuel front.

Hydrogen Fuel cells can be used in a wide range of applications, including transportation, material handling, stationary, portable, and emergency backup power applications. Fuel cells operating on hydrogen fuel are an efficient, environmentally-friendly, zero emission, direct current (DC) power source already applied to heavy duty bus, truck, and train applications, and are now under development for marine applications.

He stated that the project would be carried out by Cochin Shipyard Limited in collaboration with Indian partners and the ground work in this regard have already begun, wherein Cochin Shipyard Limited has partnered with KPIT Technologies Limited and Indian developers in the areas of Hydrogen Fuel cell, power train and Indian Register of Shipping for developing rules and regulation for such vessels. The Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vessel based on Low Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Technology (LT-PEM) called Fuel Cell Electric Vessel (FCEV) is expected to cost around Rs. 17.50 crores of which 75% would be funded by the Government of India.

The development of Hydrogen Fuelled Electric Vessels is considered as a launchpad for the country to tap the vast opportunities lying in the Coastal & Inland vessels segment both nationally and internationally. This project is expected to augment the efforts of the nation in achieving the Prime Minister's ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral by 2070 and also in complying with the standards set by International Maritime Organization (IMO) that envisages a reduction in carbon intensity of international shipping by at least 40% by 2030 and progressively to 70% by 2050.

The Green Shipping In India - 2022 workshop was held at Kochi on 30 April 2022. The Hon'ble Minister laid emphasis on the protection of mother earth for our own survival. He declared that India is firmly committed towards a sustainable and clean environment and that India had called for the "One Sun - One World - One Grid" initiative, as a lead player in the International Solar Alliance.

Apart from the Hon'ble Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Shantanu Thakur, Hon'ble Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Dr Sanjeev Ranjan - Secretary, MoPSW, Shri Amitabh Kant, IAS, CEO NITI Aayog, Dr Vibha Dhavan, Director General (TERI), Shri Jose Matheickal, Head, Global Partnerships & Projects, IMO Mr Christian Valdes Carter, Country Director, Innovation Norway and Shri Madhu S Nair, CMD, Cochin Shipyard Ltd were the other dignitaries who took part in the session.

Shares of Cochin Shipyard Limited was last trading in BSE at Rs. 334.70 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 338.30. The total number of shares traded during the day was 34117 in over 975 trades.

The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 344.40 and intraday low of 331.80. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 11540248.00.

Source : Equity Bulls

Keywords

CochinShipyard INE704P01017 HydrogenFuelled ElectricVessels GreenShipping