India To Build Ferries Fueled By Hydrogen

The Inland Waterways Authority of India announced recently that the government-owned Cochin Shipyard is slated to build India’s first hydrogen fuel cell catamaran vessel. A memorandum of understanding was signed between IWAI and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) to build the country’s vessel for operation in Varanasi. CSL signed an MoU for the construction of six electric catamaran vessels for the state of Uttar Pradesh and another two for Assam.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal made the announcement in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister for Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey during the inauguration of seven boat jetties in Varanasi.

Introduction of the 100-passenger-capacity air-conditioned hydrogen cell vessel in Varanasi will pave the way for the reduction in usage of fossil fuels in the country’s national waterways. The vessel will be deployed at Varanasi after test and trial runs in Kochi.

Based on the project’s success, the technology can be adopted for greening of cargo vessels and small country crafts, enabling significant reduction in pollution levels in the national waterways, said a release from CSL.

Cochin Shipyard was founded in 1972 and is India’s largest shipyard, capable of building all class of vessels, according to its website. The design and development of the vessel will be undertaken by CSL in collaboration with KPIT Technologies Ltd., a multinational corporation headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, India.