India develops fuel cells using rocket technology from moon mission

The Indian Space Research Organization said it has developed hydrogen fuel cells using the technology perfected during its recent mission to the moon.

Scientists say the cryogenic technology for the rocket can now be applied to buses.

The organization has assembled the first prototype, with the first road-ready bus expected to come out next year.

The group plans to enlist Tata Motors to work on the engine and hydrogen system. In 2006, Tata Motors, a division of India's Tata, began working with ISRO to design and develop a hydrogen fuel cell bus.

In the system developed by the Indian Space Research Center, the fuel cells are expected to produce 80 kilowatts of electric power, using hydrogen from eight high-pressure bottles stored on top of the bus.

The central government has said it wants to have 1 million hydrogen-fueled vehicles on the road by 2020 (see India makes cheaper fuel cell part).

Another Tata subsidiary, Jamshedpur, India-based Tata Steel, recently announced it had developed a method to extract hydrogen from steel slag (See Harvesting hydrogen from steel). The company plans to test the process at a small plant before the end of the year. 

Fuel cells show promise for buses and other heavy-duty vehicles. Pasadena, Calif.-based Calstart has launched a $24 million program to test new and existing fuel cell technologies on transit buses in the state to help commercialize the use of hydrogen systems (see Calstart starts up fuel cell bus projects).

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