The Delhi High Court has directed the Department of Heavy Industries to consider including Hydrogen Fuel Cell electric vehicles and Hydrogen refuelling infrastructure under the scheme for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II). The court went on to also direct the government to consider allocating unused funds from the FAME II scheme for promoting hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in the country, and construction and operation of refuelling stations.
Also read: What are hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and why they make more sense than EVs in India
If hydrogen-powered vehicles fall under the FAME II scheme and avail of the incentives, manufacturers like Hyundai and Toyota could consider bringing their vehicles like the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo to India.
Hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles offer a greater driving range in comparison to battery electric vehicles (for example, an FCEV would deliver about 650 km range as compared to about 400 km of a BEV), take only about 2-3 minutes to refuel, and emit nothing but water through the tailpipe.
Details of the plea filed on the subject:
The plea, filed by Advocate Ashwini Kumar, stated that the FAME India Scheme aims at encouraging domestic manufacture of electric vehicles and to promote and create a market for electric vehicles in India.
The plea further states that the primary objectives of the FAME scheme are to reduce the dependence on petroleum resources, counter the impact of internal combustion engine vehicles on the environment, and keep pace with the gradual shift of the automobile industry towards alternate fuels including electric vehicles.
The FAME scheme has not been able to adequately utilise its budget towards the adoption of electric vehicles and, for example, out of a total budget of Rs 700 crore for setting up charging infrastructure only Rs 20 crore have been disbursed in the period from 2019 up to 10th February 202, the plea states.
It was also argued that the production of Green Hydrogen, using electrolysis of water, also generated 99% pure Oxygen.
“The world is looking towards Hydrogen as an important piece of the decarbonization puzzle. India is very well placed to tap this opportunity and develop as a global leader in Hydrogen with massive solar & wind capacities to support such a clean energy future,” said Ashwini Kumar.
